


Moments Discovered and Undiscovered

by Montreat11



Series: Moments Series [12]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-07 16:24:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 88,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8807764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Montreat11/pseuds/Montreat11
Summary: There are millions of discoveries to be made in a single lifetime, but only a few that threaten to turn our lives upside-down. 12th in the Moments Series. Belle's perspective of the events in Storybrooke and the Underworld in 5B. Begins with her return to Rumple and ends with the sleeping curse. R/R.





	1. The Unknown Conception of a New Chapter

It wasn't as if everything was perfect again; she was still nervous. This man had burned her more times than anyone else in her life ever had, and considering the life she'd led before him that was saying a lot. But no one had ever loved her the way that this man did either. She was hoping, that with time, the scars that she'd earned would be worth the pain. It had been that way years ago, maybe now they could get back to that feeling.

Their love was always unique, and that was the reason, despite her nerves, that she took yet another step in his direction. He was addictive. His mouth on hers. It had been months since she'd last kissed him, so long she couldn't even remember it! It felt like a lifetime had passed, but at the moment she just couldn't bring herself to care. It might have felt like a lifetime ago that she had kissed him, but they were kissing now. And she would absolutely love to concentrate on that, but…

She broke their kiss off, and a smile automatically tugged at her lips. "You taste like whiskey!" she pointed out with a small snort. He didn't let go of her. His arms stayed tight around her back as he let out a breath and what she thought was supposed to be a nod of acknowledgment, but she didn't see it, only felt it as she let her eyes close, and his lips pressed to her forehead. He was breathless. She was breathless as well. But she had a feeling that there was something else that they were both feeling.

"Now what?" he questioned after a moment, not letting her go.

She smiled. His lips were pink and red, tempting after so much time apart, but she managed to pull back at the sight of his half-closed eyelids and bleary eyes. There was certainly something more they were feeling.

"Now we try this again," she sighed. "We try to do what you said before, love each other with honor and courage, no matter how terrifying it is for both of us. We rebuild our trust, we love like heroes and not like we're divided, enemies. But first…we go home. We get some sleep. We can't do anything if we're tired. I've been up all night, and you look as though-"

"I haven't slept," he admitted quickly. No…she figured he hadn't. He rarely took care of himself the way that he should; it was always her job. It was time she take up the mantle once again, and maybe in one additional way.

She drove the two of them back to their pink house. It was odd for them. She almost always yielded the car keys to him when they were together, but the smell of alcohol on his breath forced her to reconsider that this morning. Any other time it probably would have irritated him, but instead, he happily slid into the passenger seat beside her and they drove home in silence. At first, the silence was typical, there had once been a time that they could sit together for hours at a time and never say anything, but the more time they spent together in the car, the more awkward it began to feel. Standing in the foyer of their home, together again, the awkwardness seemed to reach a peak.

She closed the door, and both of them looked around the house. Suddenly, after months of being packed away, the fact that all his belongings, clothes, books, projects and all, were downstairs in cardboard boxes hit her in a way that it hadn't before. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of this when they'd been in the house together two nights ago. Maybe because everything had been so undetermined then that she hadn't cared, maybe because they'd had a mission and there wasn't time to think about it.

Whatever the reason it didn't matter now. It was just the way that it was. "I um…everything is still in the basement," she acknowledged. Quiet as she'd been, her voice felt loud in the big room. She hadn't felt this odd around him since she'd been freed from Regina's prison and they'd spent their first night together.

"I could sleep in the other room," Rumple suggested softly. "If it would make you more comfortable." And he certainly hadn't suggested they sleep in separate rooms since that first night. Was that how far they'd fallen? Had they gone that far back in time? Farther?

"No," she refused. "I don't think being apart will help. Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll bring some clothes up?"

He nodded his head, but didn't seem terribly committed to the idea. He moved up to the stairs and she listened as he went into his-their room. She jumped when she heard the shower come on. The pipes ran the water through the house, and it had been so long since there was anyone else in the house that she still wasn't used to hearing it, not even the day before when he'd slept in a different bedroom. It was going to take more than a day to get used to being together again.

But standing here, frozen in their entry way, was not going to fix anything. He was home, back for good, and nothing in this house seemed like it, especially in their room. She took a deep breath and moved into the basement once more. The knob warmed and then cooled at her touch just as it always had. Even with the curse destroyed the magic remained it seemed. But she didn't have to let that come between them now. For the first time, they were both human, both mortal, and this was a new life.

At the bottom of the stairs, she opened at least half a dozen boxes. She'd packed them away when she'd thrown him over the town line, unable to bear the reminders, but she never could bring herself to get rid of them. Even in times when she'd been determined to drive them to the dump and throw them away, she'd never actually done it. Now she was thankful.

Finally, she found the box that she needed. It was perfect for this particular situation. It was the one that she'd packed that contained the last of his suits from the closet, two suits, to be exact, the others were neatly folded into the other three, this box was the holdover. It contained the two suits and what had been in the drawers in the bureau. Pajamas, underwear, socks, a couple of ties. Funny how she never thought much of the miscellaneous box, but now it seemed like a trove of gold. She was too tired to unpack all of the boxes now, but this would hold them over until they rested through this afternoon and had the time to fully unpack.

She took the box, all it's belongings, up the stairs and into their bedroom. She fought off the urge to fall onto her bed and sleep as she unpacked it. He was in the shower, and she hesitated initially, but eventually let herself in, set pajamas and underwear on the sink for him to find when he finally pulled back the curtain and left him to the rest of his business. She unpacked the box, set it aside in his closet, so the room at least looked neat and orderly, then got changed herself.

Yes, she longed for a shower after the events of the last few hours but she doubted she'd make it that long standing up, she was so exhausted. She didn't even manage to get her clothes into the hamper, just tossed them neatly over a chair. If she tried to shower, she'd probably fall down! The bed felt good, though. Nearly as good as it had two nights ago before-

The door to the bathroom opened. She gasped and her breath caught in surprise. It had been so long since anyone had been in this room with her, let alone her husband. He looked just as handsome as she always remembered he was after a shower, his hair was wet, and his pajamas were unbuttoned at the top to reveal his chest, and his eyes…

His eyes were nervous.

Her heart was pounding.

She was certain that this was the right thing to do, sharing their home and their life and their bed again, but it did feel odd. It hadn't been this tense between them in this room since the first night they'd spent here, though maybe that was fitting. This was a new life, a new relationship; maybe it was right that the steps they'd taken had brought them back this far.

"I'm, uh…I'm tired," she muttered when neither of them said anything. "I know there's a lot to talk about, but I think I just want to go to sleep."

He took a deep breath and finally averted his eyes off of her, to the side of the bed that had always been designated "his"…or the side that would have been if they hadn't always slept together in the middle…

She pushed the thought from her mind and let herself sink down into the bed, roll onto her side away from his side and close her eyes. Odd, this was exactly what he had done, the first night they'd been together. He'd let her shower and change and then when she'd come out of the bathroom he'd been rolled onto his side of the bed facing as far away from her as he could. It had been respectful then, she'd been virginal, and he'd wanted to respect that privacy…not that they had for very long.

She held her breath as she felt the bed dip beneath his weight and finally settle when he did. It was strange. It was the middle of the day, they were trying to sleep in the same bed, and yet she felt worlds away from the steps they'd taken only this morning in the shop, more awake than she did after a good night sleep. This was the strangest thing-

"Belle?" his voice behind her was small and questioning, testing if she was still awake or if she'd gone to sleep. For a moment she was tempted to ignore him, to just let them patch this up when they'd both gotten a decent amount of sleep…but curiosity got the better of her.

"Yes?" she asked rolling over onto her back. He was there, folded under the blankets just as she was. The quilts made an indention between them that she'd never seen there before. Was that what it looked like for most couples when they slept?

"Belle…why did you come back?" he questioned, his eyes never once leaving the ceiling above them.

It was a familiar question, and the answer was just as familiar: "I wasn't going to, but something changed my mind." That was what she'd said the last time when Regina was behind her return but she didn't want to tell him about the conversation they'd had. This was different, though. Someone had helped her back, just not in the way they had the last time. It would be easy to use those words again now, but she'd made a promise to Neal, to tell Rumple about his son and what he'd meant to her even if it saddened him. They had to grieve his loss together because they surely hadn't before now.

"Neal helped," she finally admitted quietly.

"Bae?" he asked, finally turning his head to look over at her. His voice was confused at her answer, but also desperate and his eyes…there was a spark of interest there, of intensity she hadn't seen in months! Was that the power Neal still had over him?

She nodded. "Sometimes when I feel alone I think about him," she admitted, "about what he'd say, what he'd want for me, and…what he'd want for us." When she looked over at him, their eyes finally locked for the first time since they'd been in this room and she saw the vastness of the words left between them. So, so much! "And Merlin helped…" she added, even though her gut told her to stop looking at him she couldn't. "After I got my memories back I remembered meeting him and talking, about his relationship with Nimue. Between what he said and…and what I know Neal would have said, and what I felt...I realized that this was where I needed to be. Right here. Neal would want us to work on this relationship as long as it's living."

"Living?" he questioned with a small snort. "Is it?"

She felt her throat close and the pressure building behind her eyes told her that the suggestion brought tears to her eyes. "It is," she confirmed. It might not feel like it in the confines of this bedroom, but it certainly had back in the shop. Just for effect she reached over beneath the blankets, her arm appearing as nothing more than a vein of connection between their bodies, and laced her fingers with his. He allowed her to pull it between them and he grazed his thumb over the skin he could reach. It was gentle, and touching, and intimate like it hadn't been between them in a long time. It felt nothing like this room did now.

"You said your memories were back…all of them? Even from when Regina…"

It took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about, what he wanted her to confirm, probably because the sad truth was she still had no memory of the memories he wanted her to recall. "Oh…no, those…those Regina must have erased permanently instead of just taken."

He nodded. "She did, I just wondered..."

His voice trailed off, indicating the sentence should have been forgotten and dismissed, but her stomach tightened because she knew that the tone he'd taken was too confident for an assumption. "You…you know?" she assumed letting go of his hand and hoisting herself up on an elbow. "You know what happened to me? Where I was?"

He shook his head. "It's really not worth mentioning."

She felt her eyes go wide and her brow knit together. "Not to me!" she shouted pushing herself up on her knees and tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's not worth nothing to me, Rumple! One minute I was in the shop and the next minute I was here, with no memory of how I'd gotten home! The car was gone, there was dirt on my hands and shoes and…" she took a deep breath as she felt the throb in the back of her head begin to buzz. "And every time I think about it, my head starts to hurt!"

"Then you shouldn't think about it," he concluded propping himself up on an elbow.

"Then tell me, so I don't have to!" she begged, reaching for his hand again. It was the last thing, the final piece in all these months that she didn't have! She needed to have it back in place! "I have to know what she made me do!"

There was a pained look on his face, a look that she'd seen too many times to count and she knew she wasn't going to like what he said, but she knew he was going to say it. If he weren't, the look wouldn't be "pained".

"Regina took you to get to me, to hold you over my head-"

"So you wouldn't go after Robin Hood, I know that part but what about me? What did she do with me? Did she keep me somewhere or…or make me do something?"

He shook his head. "No, no. She…she had you summon me to the well and act on her behalf without my knowledge. We had a conversation; it was one, maybe two minutes before she finally revealed herself and your heart in the palm of her hand." His eyes went to her chest, and she knew that he wanted desperately to reach out and touch that place, to feel her heart beat beneath the skin, but she couldn't let him.

There was more to it. He wasn't the Dark One anymore, but she knew this man. Curse or not, it didn't undo hundreds of years of lies and deceit. He knew how to use words to cover up important things, and she knew he was doing it now. And she had a feeling she knew where to look for the buried treasure she desired most.

"A conversation…what did we talk about?" she asked.

"It was nothing Belle," he whispered.

"If it was nothing you'd tell me. What did we talk about?"

"I don't know. Regina used you to get information from me about what was happening, and she played on my emotions."

She held her breath. She didn't have the memories, but she knew what was happening during that time. It was the other part that made her nervous. The well. It was an important place for them and after last night a horrible place as well. If any place could play on deep emotions it was the well; the question was how had she used it?

"She played on your emotions…what did she make me say?"

"Belle…I told you, it was hardly worth mentioning."

"It's worth it to me! Rumple what did she make me say?!"

"She made a comparison!" he finally yelled giving in. "She made a ridiculous and childish comparison that I should have seen through, but didn't. I was weak and vulnerable."

She shook her head. What was he talking about?! "What kind of comparison could-"

"I kissed you, Belle," he inserted. "I kissed you, or you kissed me, it happened too fast to really tell. And then you pushed me away and what she made you say…trust me when I say it's not worth it to know Belle!" he stressed.

She was quiet for a few heartbeats. A silly comparison. "Childish" he'd said. It was another of his riddles, but this time she could figure it out in her head, with Lacey's help of course. What could be more childish and upsetting than comparing one man to another?

Will.

She didn't know what Regina had made her say to him. Frankly, she was no longer interested in the details because she knew that it wasn't something she'd said. Regina had made her. She knew it because there was no comparison. Not in her mind. But clearly, it bothered him.

"It wasn't true," she muttered after a swallow. "Whatever she had me say it wasn't true. There is no comparison. Between you and…anyone. Ever! What we have it…it's different, Rumple," she insisted setting her hand over his heart. It was pounding, just like her own suddenly was. "It's alive, even when I don't want it to be, and…it's different than anything I've ever felt before. Anything I ever will feel. Ever."

He reached up and covered her hand with his own again. His eyes fell over hers again as stared and then gave a short and quick nod. "I know that," he whispered.

But she could hear the words in between. He knew it, but knowing it wouldn't take the words away. He'd have to learn to live with her voice saying whatever it had said and she…

She swallowed and shook her head. Enough of this. This was enough! Enough separation, enough war, enough fighting, enough division. Enough of the voice in his head telling him that he wasn't enough. Her voice could do more than that.

With a deep breath, she pulled the blankets away from his chest and straddled his waist. "Belle!" She grabbed his reeling hands and placed them against her legs, the place that her nightgown rode up. "Belle what-"

"You need to touch me!" she insisted placing her hands into his damp hair. "You need to touch me, and you need to know…you need to know that I'm yours that I've always been yours. You need to touch me in a place no one but you has ever touched me. You need that. And I…I just need you."

And with that utterance hanging in the air, with his hands firmly on her skin, she leaned down and kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! For those of you that are just checking out this fiction, welcome! For those of you who are a fan of the Moments Series, welcome back! I hope you'll enjoy this fiction. It's the 12th in the Moments Series, a series that is an attempt at an accurate portrayal of Belle's perspective during the Once Upon a Time series. This fiction features everything that happened in Storybrooke and the Underworld from the moment that Belle returns to Rumple in "Swan Song" up to the moment that Belle places herself under a sleeping curse in "Ruby Slippers". Also, side note, if you are an Exile Reader, please contact me after reading this chapter to get Exile Part V, you'll be needing it.
> 
> If you enjoy this fiction, please leave kudos or a comment! I always enjoy those wonderful gems waiting for me in my inbox and I love writing back to thank you personally for reading! It helps me know that I'm doing a decent job! Peace and Happy Reading!


	2. Where They Were

This morning, when she arrived in Storybrooke once more, she'd genuinely intended for them to come home and sleep. They'd done that…eventually.

At first, their morning had taken a turn she would never have expected this time yesterday, they weren't just sharing a bedroom or a bed again, they were sharing bodies again too. It was sudden; she wholeheartedly admitted that, but just like it always did, taking the step felt right. And after they'd finally been tired and calm enough to sleep.

But only for a little while until they woke found lips and skin once more, and unashamedly continued in that pattern for the rest of the morning.

She couldn't say that she was terribly surprised. Their attraction to one another had always been strong, whether they were angry at each other or madly in love, being close to one another like this was never the problem. It was a different type of closeness that was problematic.

And so after the morning had passed, after most of the afternoon had passed too for that matter, and they'd both had nap after nap, and made love too many times to count, after Rumple had gotten up and lit the fireplace in their bedroom for the first time in her memory because she was cold, and brought food to snack on and alcohol to make things interesting, she'd pulled sheets back, welcomed him to bed, and considered a question that made her uneasy. It was an odd twist, but she figured that after all, she'd put him through maybe, it was time for her to feel uncomfortable about a question.

"So…where did you go? After…"

It was mid-afternoon, the sun was still out, though she was beginning to notice that the fire was also providing light for them. She was also getting tired again, it was nearly time for another nap, but as they lay there, he on his back, she on her side facing him, she felt that an actual conversation was in order, especially considering all that had happened.

Rumple looked over at her at her question. He understood exactly what she was asking, and the way he was looking at her now like he was searching her face as if making sure she really wanted to know the answer to what she'd asked, it was disconcerting. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I have no right to…"

"If anyone has a right it's you," he answered. "And I don't think we're going to get any farther than this if we're not truthful with one another." She blushed and smiled at the pronouncement. That was good. She didn't know if she wanted to know, but she knew that she needed to know if they were to go forward. Finally, Rumple sighed, he located her hand and rested it against her knees before looking back up at the ceiling.

"I went nowhere at first. You and the town disappeared before my eyes, and the only thing I wanted to do was get back to you. I left a tie on a branch near the town line so that I wouldn't lose it and then I just started walking, thinking of a plan.

"I figured I needed people from our world to help me, they were few and far between, but I have lived a long time, and I did know of a few. Ursula was in New York City, she was originally a mermaid and retained the power to travel between realms. After an unfortunate incident, she'd made it quite clear that she intended to go to a place where others wouldn't. I had keys to Bae's apartment in New York City in my pocket, so I figured I'd go there. I'd have a place to stay, and I could work with the sea witch if necessary. Imagine my surprise when I found Robin Hood and who I presumed to be his wife and son living in the apartment when I got there."

Robin Hood! That was where they'd gone! She knew that they'd gone into the World Without Magic, but she hadn't known where exactly until this moment. "Regina…Regina had them leave earlier in the day, before you left. Marian…Zelena she-"

"I recall," he inserted quickly. She hadn't put it together until just now, though clearly he already had. Marian was Zelena. Zelena had magic. Marian had never been cursed or affected by the Snow Queen at all. It was Zelena. She'd done it to herself. It was either risky or crazy and considering it was Zelena her first instinct was crazy. "It wasn't long after I arrived in New York that she revealed herself to me."

"Revealed herself to you? How? I-" She stopped herself when she realized just how accusing her tone had become. She couldn't do that, not anymore, not if they had even the slightest chance of making this work. She had questions, yes. And what had happened with Zelena in New York City was awful, she already knew that, but it was the past. It was a different time, and this was a new chapter. She was allowed to know, but she wasn't allowed to accuse. "Why would she reveal herself to you like that?" she questioned gently.

He turned and searched her eyes once more, and she felt the grip that he had on her hand tighten. "I wasn't well, Belle. You won't remember because I told you that day at the well, but all the deeds, all the sins I'd committed over the years took their toll. Where magic is present, it weakened my heart by turning it black, when the magic was gone it just weakened my heart. It was Robin Hood that called the ambulance that sent me to the hospital and because he is a good man, helped me find an elixir from our world that would cure me, only it didn't work because Zelena had switched it.

"I don't know how but she knew my plan was to find the Author and she traded me the elixir for the promise of a happy ending when I finally met him."

She still had a lot of questions, but there was one thing that had stopped her mind from working properly, one phrase and a memory of a night that she woke up in the middle of the night with an awful, terrible feeling that she'd only ever felt once before. She'd dismissed it before because the pain had passed but now she felt as though she knew what had happened and it terrified her.

"Your heart…it stopped didn't it," she choked out.

He nodded. "Once." She felt her heartbreak all over again and had to force her eyes into her pillow to dry them. Twice she'd felt the pain of his death. Oh, life really was too short. Beside her, she felt the bed shift and his hand move around her back to comfort her. "Belle-"

"It stopped once and then started again, didn't it?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I felt it," she answered finally picking her head off the pillow. "I didn't know what I was feeling, but I felt the way I did when you died a year ago. It was only for a moment, so I dismissed it right away, but I didn't understand…Rumple if I'd known I would have come. Right away! There were times before you were gone that I nearly did, that I almost came over that line and found you, and…" And she regretted that now. Maybe things would have been better that way, if they'd both just gone across the town line and started a life together outside of this town, outside of this world and magic! There were a million ways that the night at the town line could have gone, she didn't regret sending him over, but she regretted-

"It's done Belle," he whispered setting on his side and moving closer so he could rub her back. Comforting. He was always so comforting! He had died, and he was the one comforting her!

She gave a final sniffle and leaned forward to kiss him softly. "I'm glad you are alright now."

"Better than alright," he confirmed. But he wasn't. She could tell just by the look in his eyes that he wasn't as "alright" as he told her he was. There was something.

"Rumple…what's bothering you?" But he didn't answer. He just quietly moved his hand up to her cheek and felt her hair. She reached up and grabbed it for him. "Rumple?"

"You said you almost came after me," he admitted. "Why didn't you?"

She sighed. Of course, he had to ask a question that had half a dozen different answers! Well…of course there were a lot of reasons, each time she'd considered following him over the town line had been a different scenario, but she supposed that in the end there was always one thing that stopped her.

"I was angry, Rumple. What you did…it wasn't nothing. You hurt me. You absolutely destroyed me and the idea of wading back into that was terrifying. It is terrifying, but I'm willing to try again now that things are different."

"And Will?"

"Will was…good for me, but not in the ways I thought he was," she admitted quickly. She knew they weren't done talking about that, but she knew that there was a lot to talk about. Will was complicated. She didn't regret him. She meant what she'd said, he had been good for her! But she did regret how far she'd let the relationship go. He was a good friend; he'd helped her move on, just not romantically.

"Will was a friend when I needed him. But when it came to love…there was nothing there! Both our hearts were already taken. I think we fooled each other by thinking that because we had so much in common and had friendship that we could be more or that we were a smart match. But we couldn't be more, no matter what we looked like on paper we just never had anything. He had Anastasia and I…I had you. Even when I didn't have you and you didn't have me…I was still yours. I will always be yours and if this doesn't work…then I don't think I'll ever be with anyone ever again.

"And with Will…nothing happened Rumple. Nothing serious at least. We kissed. It never felt the same as when I kiss you. And I don't think either of us ever found true satisfaction in the other. We kissed but never went farther than that. Neither of us were ready. And for me…it takes a lot for me to be comfortable enough around someone to take my clothes off. I've never felt comfortable like that around anyone but you."

Her declaration must have been convincing, though she didn't know why it wouldn't be. It was the truth. But she was thrilled that he seemed to believe her and reached forward to kiss her. Again and again, until she felt a stirring below her belly and had to reach forward for him, she had to put her fingers in his hair, she had to breathe him in and taste him. It was a moment of truth and proof; she knew it was. Reestablishing the truth of their relationship and proof of what she'd just stated. Their relationship, the intimacy between them, it was different than it ever would be. Their past might have been behind them, but the way she saw it, they could still make up for it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...if we're going to talk about messed up relationships here is something that is going to have to happen. The writers seriously have to find some time for Rumbelle to actually have conversations. On-screen or off-screen, I don't care I can write it either way! But this is one of the reasons that this relationship is constantly failing. They run hot or cold and nowhere in between, which means conversations about really important things that they NEED to have get delayed! In season 5A I finally had them discuss things that happened in 4A and here we are in 5B discussing things in 4B. Why? Because there is no other opportunities for this conversation to happen. And I'm sorry, maybe in Adam and Eddy world the stuff that has happened to them can just be put away and never thought of again, but I would hope that in Rumbelle world, I'm not the only one shouting at the screen "so, are they ever going to get to talk about what happened a season ago?!" Like I said, I don't need to see it, I just need them to create the space for me to put it in. Otherwise, we'll be talking about the crap that happened in 5B summer of 2018.
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, Matty, and OnceUponATardis, for your comments on the last chapter! Happy to have you back! I hope you'll stick with me for the long haul. I know that 5B wasn't the best season ever for us (or 4A...or 4B...or 6...let's just say times are tough) but if we can endure it once then we can all brace ourselves and endure it a second time, right?! Peace and Happy Reading!


	3. Separate But Together

She supposed that the pop from the fire was what woke her, but she had the feeling like she hadn't really been completely asleep for a while, just lying still on the bed, dreaming thoughts and thinking of dreams. But the pop was sharp, it forced her into reality and she took a deep breath as she stretched in bed and felt…

Nothing.

Her bed was empty. But she didn't panic because she was suddenly aware of the small noises coming from around the room. Rumple was there, just not in the bed with her. "Oh!" she yawned wiggling under the covers that she'd been perfectly tucked under. "Where did I land?" she questioned reaching out and not finding her nightstand. Considering the events of the day it wasn't a surprise that she wasn't where she usually went to sleep.

"My side, technically," she heard him whisper from across the room.

She smiled as she rubbed her eyes glanced over expecting to find more food or alcohol…but instead, her smile faded. "You're dressed!" she observed sadly. The sun was on its way down and he was getting dressed?

"Yes, I told you I was getting up, do you remember?" he questioned pulling one of the two suit jackets in his closet over his shoulders.

He'd told her he was getting up? Well, that would explain why she had been drifting between sleep and awake. And of course now that he mentioned it she kind of remembered him saying something to her but the words were nothing but fog. Fortunately, that was not the result of the curse, just the result of loving sleep too much and being difficult to wake.

"Vaguely," she admitted pushing herself up on her elbows and rubbing her eyes again. "Where are you going? I thought we were going to rest today."

"To the shop," he answered adjusting his tie and walking over to sit beside her on the bed. "I wanted to go in, go through some things, start to make things seem normal again. And I've never really been one to spend an entire day in bed sleeping, even when I was human. There's always something to do, something to worry about-"

"We weren't exactly sleeping…" she interrupted before he could turn a perfectly good day into something dark and lazy. As far as she was concerned, they'd been quite active actually.

He smirked and offered a small chuckle and…was that a blush? "No we weren't…but it's for the better. Emma sent me a text; she wants to talk."

She was still foggy, her mind slogging through each comment and questioning when things had ever been normal before really landing on the important question. "Emma? What does she want to talk to you about?"

"She didn't say," he answered. "Do you want to get up and come with me? Check on the library?"

She opened her mouth to say yes and begin to get up, but then stopped herself. There was a conversation now in the back of her mind, one she'd had not too long ago with Neal, or at least the version of him that lived in her head. They'd talked about this, about how they might have been too close, done too much together, and sacrificed other types of closeness and intimacy that really mattered in the process. They'd talked about having separate lives together, being individuals in their unity and talking with each other more instead of standing at each other's side and experiencing it all first hand. At first, she thought it had been an odd way of thinking about it but the more she'd thought about it the more the idea had grown on her. In the past, when she'd been starry-eyed, she'd have taken him up on his offer in a heartbeat. She'd have gone to the shop with him, visited with Emma, gone to dinner with him, and then they'd have come back here to this very bed. But now she could think of other things that needed done, other things that she wanted to do that didn't involve him being attached to her hip. And of course she wanted to go with him, but getting trust back would be difficult if she followed him everywhere he went. Separate but together. It was a radical thought for them. But maybe it was for the better.

"No…I hired Rapunzel while you were gone, she does just fine on her own, I'd only be in the way. And you and I…I think maybe some distance might help."

The smile that he'd worn on his face since he sat down suddenly disappeared and panic crept into his eyes.

"No!" she refuted suddenly realizing her mistake. "No, no, not like that. I just mean…" What did she mean? How could she explain this to him? A conversation she'd had with a vision she carried in her head of his dead son? It seemed impossible. But she'd already said too much to take it back and let it be forgotten! She didn't know how to explain, but she had to try.

"I just mean…" she took a breath and pushed herself up so that she was sitting beside him. "From the moment we met, that day in my father's castle, we've only ever had two speeds. On and off, fast and slow, together and…apart. But this time, after all that's happened I think…I think maybe we need to try something…something different.

"I want…I want us to have lives Rumple, worlds beyond just each other. I want to make you a priority, but I can't make you a priority if I have nothing to compete against you. If it's you and nothing but you then it's not really putting you first. I want to have a life. I want friends, friends like Rapunzel and Blue, I want to spend time with Granny, I want to spend time in my library again, and have lunches with my father and…most of all I want to come home every single night and tell you about it because you're the most important thing in the world to me!

"I want you to come home from the shop and tell me what you did and who you saw and who bought what or said something funny! And I don't want you to want it because I want it, I want you to want it too. I want us to be priorities…I want…"

She wanted to make sense! She wasn't sure that she was even following what she'd said anymore! How could she expect him too? She dropped her head into her hand and tried to find the words, tried to figure out when her explanation had become a rant!

But she felt his hand under her chin. He drew her up to look into his eyes which didn't show an ounce of the panic or pain they had only moments ago. "What you want is to not be Belle or Mrs. Gold, you want to Belle Gold, something new, something more."

His words were gentle and understanding and she instantly felt her mouth curl into a smile as she nodded. "Yes," she breathed. There really was no good way to explain it, but somehow he'd managed to figure it out perfectly. "I know it's different and it might take some getting used to but I think that considering all that's happened…different might be good for us.

"People…people always say that they love others so much that it hurts, Rumple, but I don't think they're always truthful. It's true with you and me. What we have had in our life, what we build upon is different than any other couple we've ever met, it's a special kind of love that I get to see. You love me so much that it hurts. But I don't want it to hurt anymore. I don't want to feel broken anymore. And I don't want you to either."

There were tears in his eyes as he looked her over but never once did his gaze waver. It continued to be understanding, even if what she'd said, while truthful, had carried some pain to it as well. "We'll start from the beginning then," he agreed. "We'll see how it works and if it doesn't work-"

"Then we change it," she finished. "We change it and reconfigure it until it's right and on the day that it becomes wrong again then we start all over again, we change with each other."

He nodded and looked down at their hands entwined on her lap. She couldn't actually remember when they'd done that, but she was happy that they had. It was their left hands united there on the blanket, and it reminded her of something.

"Will you bring me my jewelry box, there on the dresser?" she requested aware that he was blocking her in and that she was naked, not that either would have been a problem for them, but it was simpler for him to get up and get it. When he returned to the bed he took his seat once more and placed it on the other side of her body, she opened it up, found the little compartment her wedding ring rested in and plucked it out.

"You kept it!" he muttered with astonishment. When she looked over at him his eyes were wide. "I thought for sure you would have…" He was speechless to come up with the impossible, ways she would have destroyed this holy thing. She couldn't blame him for his assumption, after all, she'd thought of destroying nearly everything else at some point. But never this.

"I couldn't get rid of it," she explained. "It meant too much then and now…take it. Keep it safe. Give it back to me when the time is right."

He took it from her hands and looked at the diamond setting, moving it back and forth in the light so that it glimmered and winked at them for a moment, then he looked back at her. "When will the time be right?" he asked.

She smiled. "I think…I think when the time is right you'll know. We'll know!"

Finally, he let out a breath that he'd been holding in and she watched as he dropped the ring into his jacket pocket, close to his heart, and patted it. Safe and sound. With a smile, she leaned forward and kissed him because while this had been a difficult conversation, it had been one they'd needed to have and she felt like it was fruitful. They'd done well. Maybe going slower and keeping a bit of distance in their day to day lives would be good for them.

"You have to go," she finally managed to mutter resting her forehead against his own. "Emma's probably already at the shop by now."

He nodded and managed to pull away, then sighed as he looked her over. "If a bit of separation is the goal then it might be time to look into getting you your own car," he commented.

She smiled. Though owning a car had never really been something she'd desired or even thought necessary in the past, she suddenly found that she liked the idea even if she couldn't picture herself driving anything other than that giant car. Two cars, two worlds…one family."

"I would like that. But in the meantime, I don't mind walking to and from town. It helps me think."

"Well in that case…meet me in town for dinner? When the sun goes down? You can have the day to yourself and we can spend the evening together."

"Are you asking me out on a date, Mr. Gold?"

"Maybe I am, Mrs. Gold," he bantered back. "You and me, wine, candlelight…what do you say?"

If she was smiling before she was absolutely beaming now. This conversation had actually gone better that she'd expected it to. Much, much better. "I would like that too," she agreed. "A few hours gives me some time to rest and clean, and move your stuff back up from the basement."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to," she inserted quickly. "I moved it away to begin with I should be the one to move it back. Besides, I want us to slow down and have distance in some ways but in other ways I want it to be just like it always was. This is our home, it always has been, and I want it to be again."

Without a response, he leaned forward and kissed her again. Then again. And then again before she realized that it was going to be difficult to stop if they didn't soon and she pushed against his chest for air. "I love you," she whispered.

"And I love you too." Those words. Those exact words. They were like music to her ears. There was a time they'd said them almost daily but now she couldn't remember the last time they'd repeated them. Hearing them again made her happier than she ever would have thought possible this time yesterday. Oh, how quickly had they fallen back into old habits, back into love so deep there was no end in sight.

Then he took her hands in his own, spread her arms out far so the sheet she held against her chest dropped into her lap and the grin he smiled was wicked in a good way. "If Emma hadn't wanted to see me…" he lamented, possibility in his voice.

She only laughed and removed her hands. "Go meet her, and if our date goes well tonight…"

"I'll prepare everything I've got to sweep you off your feet," he muttered happily. "Get some sleep first sweetheart," he whispered as he stood up off the bed. She snuggled back down under the sheets as he put the jewelry box back then returned to tuck her in like he had years ago. "Not everything needs to be done right away. I'll see you for dinner."

She nodded, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes-

Before remembering who he was off to see and the state of the world outside their home. "Rumple!" she called before he could close the door. "Be gentle with Emma. She's hurting."

He considered it for a moment, then nodded and quietly shut the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh where do I begin with this chapter? I suppose the part that I'm most excited and, as with most things in Moments, most nervous about. The ring. The ring bit in here is actually set up for something that I really doubt we'll ever see in OUAT but...you never know. The idea came from an interview over the summer when someone asked if Belle would ever put her ring on again and A&E answered that she would if she ever felt like she could trust him again. Do they remember that? Do they have plans for it? No idea. Will we ever see a scene like Rumple giving back to her? It would be nice, but to me it's doubtful. I suspect she'll just turn up wearing it again one day and when she does that is perfectly fine because I've already kind of written in its reappearance and look forward to writing that future chapter. Besides, I get a small delight of thinking about Rumple carrying the ring in his breast pocket throughout all of 5B & 6\. Also, in regards to this chapter, while it's fun to write changes, sometimes it's also fun to go back and write things that stay the same. Belle and her unending tiredness and unwillingness to get out of bed, the way they always so easily fall back in love when they should give it a little more time, I always love that kind of stuff. In my opinion, it helps Moments to feel like one cohesive project instead of a bunch of fictions.
> 
> Thank you, Taisch and Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter, not to mention your oh so kind words! I'm just happy that everyone is enjoying this fiction so far and pleased with where it's at. Of course from this point, you might think there are some rough seas ahead (and there totally are because even now he's lying to her, he never learns), but we will get a few more chapters of happiness before the really bad stuff happens. And hey, remember back in MH&U, when everyone went away to Neverland and I had to think of things for Belle to do for about five episodes. That kinda happens again. I hope you'll like the things I've come up with. Peace and Happy Reading!


	4. A Day In Their Lives

She slept. She slept better than she had in months, but not because all was at peace. She was simply exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, and even physically. It was a good thing that things had resolved when they had because, in all honesty, her body could not have taken another day of the way she'd been living.

This day had been…unexpected. What happened after they first got into bed had really been completely unplanned. They'd moved faster than she'd thought that they would, faster than she'd initially wanted to, but she just couldn't bring herself to regret it. It was evening, the sun would be going down soon, it was hours after he'd left, and she knew the moment that she opened her eyes, sat up, and had to hug the sheet to her chest as she looked around their room that she didn't regret anything they'd done. It was sudden, but good. She'd forgotten how much she loved him, how comfortable she could be around him, not to mention just how addictive he was. She might not have thought it was a good idea when they'd first gone to bed, intending only to sleep, but now she knew it had been.

So they wanted to have separate lives. That was fine. But here in this house, they had to learn to be together again. Today had certainly helped that.

But the time for that was over, and judging by the setting of the sun it had been over for quite some time now. Rumple had left hours ago to meet Emma. She'd dropped off into sleep with intentions to wake up and put at least some of his stuff away before she went to meet him for dinner, but it was clear that she'd overslept too long for that. She was disappointed, but she knew Rumple probably wouldn't care. They'd go to dinner, come home, go back to bed, and tomorrow, after he'd gone to work and before she left for work, she'd unpack the clothes that she'd boxed up. For now, she wanted to focus on getting ready for dinner.

Difficult as it was, she managed to get out of bed. She wasn't completely rested, not like she wished she was. Probably when they got home tonight, they'd actually have to go to sleep. But she had enough energy to stay awake until then. Though she had to admit that the shower did help. An hour later she was clean, dressed, and ready to go. She locked the door behind her and was a bit surprised to find that the car was still in the driveway. She hadn't expected that since she'd told him that she'd walk...but she probably should have. She should have known that his sense of chivalry would prevent him from making her walk and he would have taken that on himself. Separate lives…maybe it was time that she get her own car.

But despite the fact that he'd apparently walked, despite the fact that she had been looking forward to walking into town herself, she dug the keys to the car out of her purse and drove into town.

When she arrived she glanced into the windows of the library, the lights were still on even in the dying sunlight. Rapunzel. She was going to have to talk to her soon enough. And her father as well. In theory, the fact that she was back in town shouldn't have been that well known yet. The only ones that she knew had knowledge of it were Henry and Rumple, but she knew how much this town talked. Probably there was a stir when she left, and all she would have needed tonight was a neighbor to call a friend, who would call a friend, who would call her father or Rapunzel or even Emma to let the world know that she hadn't gotten very far. It was tempting to go over to the library now, to explain herself and the last minute decision she'd made to Rapunzel, but in the end, her exhaustion got the best of her.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow she could figure out how to tell those who were close to her. Tonight all she wanted to do was have a nice dinner with her husband and go home to bed again…and maybe figure out why Emma had called him away from her today.

She hadn't thought about that until just now. The reason he'd left this morning, one of them at least, had been to meet Emma. What had she wanted with him? As she walked around the shop, she peered into the windows and saw that no one was in the front room. He was in the back then? Was Emma still there? Would she interrupt them? She honestly couldn't see Emma staying with Rumple for more than a couple of minutes. Killian was dead, she'd be grieving, and Rumple…he wasn't exactly the face of comfort and kindness. Still, at the door she stopped to listen, just in case she was still inside the shop with Rumple. There were no sounds that she could hear coming from inside. As far as she could assess, Rumple was alone.

She opened the door and entered the shop. "Rumple!" she called, just to make sure someone was actually there! He answered her call, letting her know that he was in the back room. She let out a sigh and left to go find him…but didn't expect to see what she saw. Rumple hunched over a table, a book, reading. But it wasn't just any book, it was the book that she'd found the information about the fury in. He was either too engrossed in it to move when she came in or didn't care for her to see she was reading it. When she crept up behind him and read over his shoulder, or around his arm at her height, she could see he was in the middle of a chapter on the Underworld. Why on earth would he be reading that?

"The uh…the Underworld…is that the information Emma wanted?" she questioned uncertainly. It was the only reason he'd be reading it that she could come up with. And if Killian had died...it made sense to her.

"Something like that," he breathed before flipping through a couple of pages and finally closing the book. He glanced over at her under heavy eyelids and sighed. "We need to talk."

Her stomach instantly turned over, and she felt herself take a step away from him. Her chest felt tight. She tried to remind herself not to panic, that talking was a good thing, talking wasn't secrets and whispers and hiding. But she couldn't help herself. Phrases like "we need to talk," especially said in that tone, rarely ever came with good news for them, and though she told herself to remain open to not put walls up, to listen and not panic, she felt it happen anyway.

She didn't ask what he needed to talk about, just stood there and waited for him to drop whatever news he had for her in her lap. "It appears I need to leave Storybrooke for a short period of time-"

"Leave?!"

"-I don't anticipate being gone for more than tomorrow, I'll be back before you know it."

Leave? He'd just woken up, she'd just come home, now one of them was leaving again?! "This is what Emma wanted? To drag you over the town line? Why on earth-"

"Actually it's a little bit more complicated than that," he interrupted. "Emma doesn't want to go anywhere on this earth. She believes that she can save Hook."

"Save Hook?!" he wasn't making any sense to her. Save Hook? The dead couldn't be saved. "Hook is dead! There's nothing that she can do!"

"She believes there is something she can do. She thinks that by splitting her heart in two and giving him half, he'll live."

That would have sounded crazy if she didn't know for a fact that it had worked at least one other time before. David. If what Regina had told her once was true, then after Snow White had cast the curse to escape Zelena and deliver them back to Emma, the only way David had survived the encounter was because she had Regina split her heart and give half to David. She believed it because at the time she couldn't think of a reason that Regina would lie to her about it and clearly David was up and walking around! But…saving someone from the dead couldn't be that simple all the time! And it certainly wouldn't require a trip out of Storybrooke! Obviously, it hadn't for Snow and David!

"But if Emma wants to split her heart and give it to Killian why would she, or you, or anyone for that matter, need to leave Storybrooke! Why not just go to the morgue?!"

"The pirate was buried quickly this morning," he informed her. Her jaw dropped. Buried. That fast?! Archie had taken a week, Neal a day and a half…Hook was buried in only a few hours?!

"But…but why?!"

"Why not? There is no reason to question his death, no reason to draw things out with an autopsy or investigation. And as a former Dark One that nearly turned the town over to death itself…perhaps a quick burial was best. Perhaps his body is safest under the ground."

Under the ground…Hook was dead and buried, and Emma was going after him and taking her husband with her. Suddenly the significance of the passage he was reading when she came in became clear.

"Emma's not exactly taking you to the Enchanted Forest, is she?" she realized. They weren't going anywhere on this earth, that was what he'd told her. She didn't know what she expected, that because Hook was formerly a Dark One he could be summoned with the vault as Rumple had?! Of course not! That had worked because of a loophole, because magic couldn't destroy itself! Hook was dead. And this wouldn't be a simple trip to the Enchanted Forest or Camelot.

"In order to get Hook back we'd have to go to where his soul currently resides, which isn't in his body, nor any vault or chamber. We'll have to go to the Underworld."

"The underworld?!" she breathed out with shock. Hell? He wanted to leave her to go to hell?!

"I'll only be gone for a day, just long enough to retrieve Hook," he assured her.

She didn't find it assuring, she found it confusing! This was nothing like him, he didn't even like Hook! And wasn't death…death?! Hook's body was dead in the ground, there was no assurance that doing this in the Underworld would even work! She understood that losing someone could be difficult, but that was no reason for Emma to drag everyone to the Underworld to try and fight it! Or her husband, for that matter!

"No, I don't understand, why you?"

"Because, Belle, I'm the only one who's been there," he explained taking a few steps forward. A few steps…she hadn't been aware of just how far away from him she'd moved, nearly to the other side of the shop. Her entire body felt rigid, her arms folded in front of her, an effort to protect herself against whatever he said and that was it! He had to go because he'd been there, the Underworld, when he died. There was a lump in her throat, there always was whenever he or anyone else mentioned that. But it still didn't make sense to her. That all explained why they needed him to go but why he was actually going…that stumped her. But maybe it wasn't something to explain, maybe it was something to accept.

"Plus," he added, "my blood can summon the ferry." The ferry, the one to the Underworld, they'd need to summon it when the moon was at its zenith, that gave them time but really not that much of it. And yes, he'd explained it was only for a day, it was easy to go on trips when one was under the assumption that it was only for a day, but not too long ago she'd agreed to a trip for a "day" and returned six weeks later! Did she really want to fight him now, before he left for the Underworld?! No. Not particularly. Did she really want to be this far away, to have all of the walls that she could think to unintentionally throw up between them linger?

No. She didn't want to accept it, but sometimes there was just no getting around difficult things. Accepting it wasn't the issue, it was dealing with it. She sighed in defeat and stepped forward, though every wall she'd put up, despite the fact that she still felt panicked, and wrapped her hands around his neck. She reached up and gave him a small kiss, which he returned. "Just…come back to me," she requested. There was still a lot of work to be done, and not long ago she was unsure about how she felt about him in her life, but now she knew, Merlin and Neal, they'd helped her understand, she couldn't do the work by herself. She needed him.

"I always do," he whispered with a calming smile. She took a deep breath then let her arms slid around his back so her head could rest against his chest.

"On time," she requested against him. "I've been in your place before, a day can turn into-"

"Nothing," he finished for her. "I'll be home before you know it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let's talk about one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to this show. The timeline. It's always baffled me why they don't at least try to put more space into the series. I mean really, with the way that Henry ages you would think that every little day would help and yet whenever a character "dies" (dead is never dead unless you're Neal) they always show the funeral happening right away. True story, it takes time to plan funerals, even the most basic of them. A plot needs purchase, a coffin needs purchase, the stone needs purchased and engraved, flowers bought and arranged, the body transported...it's not nearly as easy as it seems. Now, usually, in the series, I am able to add a day or so before the funeral. I added a week for Archie because the boys were still on their "assume a year takes place within a season" kick (God, I miss that kick). I added a day for Neal, and I was able to add a day for Robin (though you don't know that yet). I wasn't able to add that for Hook. Everything that I saw suggested he was killed that night and buried that morning. Trust me, I'd have loved to give Rumple and Belle an extra day in bed, but it just didn't make sense. Rumple is preparing to go to town before Emma's text comes, so if you spend a day or two in bed why get up and go to town that night? Why not wait another night? And Emma, when she hears the call of the dagger I got the sense that it was the first time she'd really stopped or slowed down since the death. If I delayed things a day that also didn't make sense. So I figured that considering his past, and what happened with Regina after the curse broke in season 2 there was good reason to bury Hook quickly and quietly and maybe even with the help of magic. No matter how you look at it, it really doesn't make sense. I hope that this is at least smoother than it might seem.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	5. A Promise For Tomorrow

"Hey…" he pulled her off of his shoulder after a couple moments of quiet and rubbed her arms as he looked down into her eyes. "I don't have to meet Emma and the others for a few hours. Are you hungry? We could still grab some dinner."

Dinner. Going to dinner like an ordinary married couple. What a concept! She'd nearly forgotten that was why she had gotten out of bed, tired as she was, and driven into town. Of course, now it seemed silly, trying to have this normal life when she knew deep down they were already on to the next catastrophe, but she knew that if they didn't learn to find normalcy in the little they were both given, then they never would. They would continue to make excuse after excuse and return each time to the same relentless cycle that had made them this way in the first place. That cycle had to be broken some time, it may as well be now.

She nodded in response, then picked her bag up from where she'd left it, and the pair of them left the shop. He locked the door, and they crossed the street before walking down to Granny's…only suddenly she realized that he wasn't by her side. He'd stopped, just on the other side of the Mariners Garage. She looked down the road at Granny's and then back where he stood in the opposite direction. "Aren't we going to Granny's?" she asked.

"Not tonight," he answered offering her his elbow like he might have months ago. She felt a smile that was both skeptical and curious break over her face as she took the steps forward and took the arm he offered. It was only after she took his arm that she realized where he'd stopped. La Tandoor. It was the only restaurant on the street aside from Granny's, and in all the time she'd lived here she had never been there. She had memories of Lacey being there, and of Mr. Gold promising he'd take her there one night, but that night had never come, until tonight apparently.

Dinner was refreshing, something that she always wanted to remember because it was so affirming. They had been through a lot in the last few months, and she couldn't help but remember all the times that she'd found herself asking if all of their life had been bad. The answer was no. That was difficult to see sometimes, especially through the haze of hurt and anger, but dinner was a reminder. Things were not always bad between them. If they had been, then she wouldn't be drawn to him, to this, to quiet dinners by candlelight, talking about stupid small things that had no meaning to anyone else and yet meant the world to both of them. She was attracted to his smile, the blush that would show up in his cheeks when he was happy. She loved the way he flirted with her, how nervous he got, the silly jokes, and corny comments that he allowed himself to make when he thought no one else was listening. And yet she also adored the gentleman in him, the way that he offered his elbow when they finally left so they could walk down the street to where she parked the car.

She could already feel the beginning of nerves stirring inside her chest once more when they finally arrived at the car. It was one day according to him, one day and then he'd be home. That would be good. They were together, but they could do different things, they could be their own people! It didn't stop her nerves. One day. It would only be one day, wouldn't it? It wouldn't upset this delicate balance that they were beginning to work on, would it?

She knew his intentions the moment that he opened the driver's side door for her. He wanted her to leave, to get in the car and go home, he'd make his own way to the portal. But the fact that he was about to leave, that they were going to be apart again, suddenly seemed to strike her. "Let me drive you," she requested, ignoring every warning bell in her head and pushing herself into his arms.

"You don't have to," he muttered. "I can make a call."

"Or you can let me drive you and have a few more minutes together before you go."

"Belle…it really will only be a day."

"When has anything in this town ever taken a day?"

"This will."

"You can't know that," she insisted gripping his lapel in her fingers. "Let me take you, please. Just for a few more minutes."

He stared down at her for a long time with that look of regret she knew only too well. Her words had gotten to him. And after a moment he gave a quick sad nod and walked around to the other side of the car. "Do you know where to go?" he asked.

She kind of knew where to go. "A large body of water?" she recalled from the night she'd read the passage for Robin Hood. How many of those were there in Storybrooke?

Quite a few, apparently. With an amused smirk, he directed her along the streets of Storybrooke to a park that she'd never been to before. It was dark, the moon was out, from the parking lot she could see the park was still lush and green on the cusp of fall she could also see the walking path, streetlights, and yes, at the other end, a lake. So that was what would take him away from her. To hell. Or back to hell in his case. He wasn't so much a blind adventurer in this task as the guide.

"What's it like?" she asked as they sat there in the darkness together. No one was there yet, the park was quiet, the lake was still, it seemed like there was nothing to do but watch the fog roll in and talk. They hadn't done so much talking these last few months, they might as well get used to doing it again. Besides, she was suddenly aware that though he had visited the Underworld, he never spoke of it, just like he never spoke of his time with Zelena, or even Milah. As much as she knew he wasn't going to like it, that all had to change. "The Underworld, I mean, what's it like?"

Next to her Rumpelstiltskin took a deep breath. "Different than here," he answered "but similar too. There is a sense of day and night, time passing, and yet-"

"There's not," she assumed for him.

"No…it's not a final place after death Belle, it's a place for people with unfinished business, a place for them to work through that business and find peace before moving on to somewhere more permanent."

That was different than any account that she'd ever read, but she believed him because everyone who had ever written her books had done so when they were alive. There were very few accounts of those that had journeyed, alive, to the Underworld, and returned to tell the tale. Even then it usually wasn't them telling it, but some other secondary source. And she'd never heard of anyone who was already dead and buried returning. That still seemed impossible.

"What was your unfinished business?" she asked instead of dwelling on the possibilities of the trip.

"I never figured it out, but I think it was probably self-explanatory. You, Bae, Henry, even my father to a certain extent all could have been unfinished business, but I have a feeling that none of it would have mattered in the long run."

Finishing unfinished business wouldn't have mattered for him? Why not? Why would he have been different from anyone else in the Underworld with unfinished business? "Why?" she questioned looking across the seat at him.

"The curse of the Dark One must have a soul, Belle. Even when I was there, I maintained my magic and could always feel it inside of me. I was gone, but the magic was still very much alive and tied to the land of the living. If it wasn't, then I never would have been so easily dragged back from that place."

"What was that like?"

She had never asked him about that moment, about what it was like for him to come back from the dead, possibly because until today she had never really wanted to take him back to those moments and hadn't known where his soul had gone. For all she'd known he had gone to the bottom of the vault and stayed there in tar form! But what he was saying, the story he was giving her, prompted and fragmented as it was, she had to admit that she was hanging on every word! What was it like for him? To be in that world one minute, and before her and Neal the next? She looked over at him and felt her heart thud against her rib cage as she waited for him to answer.

He was trying to answer. She could see that he was trying hard! His mouth was open and moving slightly, his eyes were open but unseeing as he looked down into the darkness near his feet, but his brows were furrowed as if he was in pain or confused. He stayed that way for a minute or so and finally shook his head. "I…I can't…I don't have the words to describe it," he said almost breathlessly.

In the past, that was a comment that would have made her stop talking about a subject altogether. She didn't want to push him and force him to talk about something that he didn't want to. But in her desire to find something new for the pair of them she found that she couldn't entirely let the subject go. After all, how different would things have been if she hadn't backed down when she asked uncomfortable questions about Neal and Zelena? Besides, she wasn't exactly sure that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. He hadn't refused to answer her question, he'd just said that he didn't have the words for it. Maybe if they talked about something that he would have words for?

"It's not dangerous, is it? I shouldn't be worried that-"

"The Underworld is like any other Kingdom ruled by a Tyrant. There are good people there, just trying to work through their issues and move on to a more permanent place. There are bad people there who do the same and everyone in between good and bad. But Emma is allowing Henry to go, I may not be supportive of that decision, but if I was really concerned for his safety, I'd have put a stop to it."

She didn't know if she should panic or feel relieved at those words. He was right, Emma, and Regina for that matter, wouldn't let Henry go somewhere they thought was truly dangerous. Rumple wouldn't either! But she had to admit she still didn't like the idea of Henry or Rumple going along on this little mission, especially after what he'd just said.

"A Tyrant?"

"Hades. The self-proclaimed 'Lord of the Underworld,' I never met him in my time there, not even a Dark One was enough to warrant a visit, but I can't exactly say I regret it."

"Why is he a Tyrant?" she questioned nervously. Arguably they had just dealt with a Tyrant in the villainous King Arthur. She didn't exactly care to do it again, nor did she want Henry to do it again!

"To say he's a Tyrant…to each his own I suppose," Rumple corrected glancing at the clock and then looking outside again. "The Underworld…it's a lot like Storybrooke, but it's a world of death. Hades employs the ferry to bring lost souls to him, but then the Lord of Death rules over them. They are left to their own devices to figure out how to leave the Underworld. He does nothing to improve their lifestyle or state of being. For the most part, my time there was spent in the house with very little guidance about what I should be doing. Hardly what the gods intended for that place to be."

There was a lot of information he'd given her in that particular rant, but only one thing that really stood out. "The house? Ours? It…it exists in the Underworld?!" she blanched. She felt like she was missing something, like there was certainly some important fact that he was leaving our or not being clear about.

"Storybrooke and the Underworld are _very_ similar, Belle," was his only answer and it left her stunned and confused. Their house was in the Underworld? The Underworld was similar to Storybrooke? Was the Underworld Storybrooke?! She felt so confused. Did that mean that the Underworld took on the form of whoever was there? Or did that mean that someone had modeled the Underworld off of Storybrooke? Or Storybrooke after the Underworld for that matter? Storybrooke wasn't meant to be a good place, it was meant to be a cursed place! Which came first?! And why?! Those questions were on the tip of her tongue! But she stopped herself from asking before the words could escape her mouth. He couldn't be expected to know everything and it wasn't as though he wasn't trying to explain it all to her. She had a feeling that he was explaining it, for some reason she just wasn't getting it or understanding. She'd done very little research on the Underworld and the lands of the dead. She'd never really been a religious person, she'd always just chosen to uphold the values she had here in this life and see where it got her when she died, decades from now with any luck! But suddenly she knew exactly what she planned on doing the moment that Rumple was gone, and she had some free time.

"So…why your blood?" she asked instead of dwelling on Storybrooke and the Underworld. "Why can you summon the ferry?"

"Because I was there. Portals to the Underworld can only be opened by the blood of those who have been to the Underworld and returned. That is probably how the pirate opened it in the first place the other night. He wounded me in our fight. He had my blood on his hands, or hook as it were, and I was just too caught up in battle to recognize the importance of it."

That made sense…but the ferryman? "So does that mean that the ferryman is…alive?"

"No," Rumple corrected almost too matter-of-factly. She was beginning to see why Emma wanted him as a guide, he was a wealth of knowledge. "There once was a time that Hades was free to go wherever he wished, Mount Olympus, the Underworld, our world…but for whatever reason he is stuck now, unable to move between them. His blood is said to coat the bottom of the ferryman's boat, allowing transport. He's not alive, but if the rumors are true, Hades once was."

"So you can summon the ferry just as Hades can," she realized as her stomach began to twist for a new reason. "Did it ever occur to you, or Emma for that matter, that Hades might not like that?!"

"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't," Rumple chuckled. "But like I said, we won't be there long. Just enough to find Hook, see if Emma's theory has any validity, and return home. I've told you, Belle, it's a one-day trip."

"I went with them on a day trip once, we were in Camelot for six weeks!"

"This won't be like that," he assured her. "It'll either work or it won't and I doubt that anyone going will let Emma stay after the plan fails and that includes Hook himself."

That said a lot. Rumple was going, but he didn't exactly expect this plan to work. That was putting a lot of faith and trust in Emma and her family to separate her from Killian. And yes, she did understand his belief that a mother and father would not allow their daughter, or their grandson, stay in a dangerous place and make a prolonged and unnatural good-bye even worse, but she also knew that he was underestimating the Charming Family. They didn't give up easily when "Plan A" failed. There was always a "Plan B", "C", and sometimes even a "Plan D".

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you," she pondered aloud. One day...she doubted that this would be one day. She could just feel it.

He shook his head immediately. "No, there's no reason. I don't particularly want you to see that place and you were the one that said you wanted things to be separate."

"I did but…I meant here in Storybrooke, in our normal day to day life. I do want to go on an adventure with you."

"Our lives will never be normal, and this isn't so much an adventure as it is a task. It wouldn't be the two of us, but an entire group, and I'm confident that you are safer here than you are down there. It would be a lot of hassle for one day, Belle, and it will only be one day."

From across the strange park, two pairs of headlights pulled up then shut off. Even at this distance, there was the sound of car doors slamming. There must have been another parking lot over there somewhere. One he obviously hadn't gotten the memo about meeting them at. It was time. She took a deep breath and glanced over at him. "I'll stay and wait for you to get back, I'll see Rapunzel, get the things out of the basement-"

"Belle, I told you-"

"I want to do it, Rumple," she insisted before he could argue. "And when you get back there will be things we need to talk about. Even still…"

They were on good terms, but that didn't mean they were perfect. There was still a lot of conversations to be had, a lot of work to be done, a lot of trust to be re-earned, a lot to get used to, and she didn't want either of them to fall back into old routines and forget that, curse or not.

"Even still," he echoed in agreement, understanding what she meant. Suddenly her hand felt warm, and she glanced over to find that he held it in his own before leaning over and kissing her tenderly only once, purposefully leaving her wishing for more before he muttered "tomorrow."

And then he was gone from the car, walking across the grass to the group gathering by the lake. She didn't stay to watch. Just took a deep breath, threw the car in reverse, and left him at the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Filler! But important filler that I thought we all could use given the storm coming our way. Forgive me, I tend to drag these things out and I was working through a lot of the "why would they do that" from this episode and when I came up with something that fit, I just had to put it in.
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you, Deweymay, for leaving such wonderful and awesome comments of the chapters. I know Rumple is gone for a while and Belle is on her own now, but I really do hope that you'll like the little tasks I gave her to do in the meantime. We've got appearances from Moe, the dwarves, Archie, even Lily coming up and of course a lot of Blue Fairy and a lot of the Rapunzel/Belle friendship that I've come to love so much! I hope you'll enjoy it too. Peace and Happy Reading!


	6. Girl Talk

And so the day began. After a difficult night of shifting, tossing, turning, and worrying, she finally woke the next morning to face the daylight. And the clock. That was fine, for the most part, there were things to do. There were always things to do in this house. Dusting, cleaning, sorting…but in this case what needed to be done was obvious. She had to bring his things up from the basement.

It was eerie. It was a day not unlike this that she'd packed everything away in the first place. Now she was unpacking it. She brought the boxes up out of the basement for the bedroom first, sorted and placed everything back where it belonged in the closet, the drawers, even the few items that she'd originally removed from the bathroom. It was nearly time for lunch when she was done, but the good news was that was the bulk of it. There were other things left to do, the washer was running, she'd found that a few of his shirts wrinkled and so she'd begun a load of laundry, then there were the projects that he'd had out around the house. They needed replaced as well, but that took a backseat to something that she so rarely allowed herself to do.

She made a grocery list and went to the store. It was silly, she knew it was, but it was nice to have the time to do something so normal. Even when Rumple had been away and Will was around she never really had time to maintain the house, probably because she'd avoided it in some way for the memories and the anger they made her feel. And then of course was Camelot and all the time she'd spent living, and eating at Granny's. It had been a long time since she'd really lived in this house. The idea of living in it with Rumple was still frightening. Frankly, the scars she carried of his past betrayal were not as easily swept away as the dirt on the floor. But she understood now that nothing was going to get better if she continued to live in Granny's, or if he did, or any combination where they were not living together in the same house. They couldn't work on things if she ran away every time she was upset. If they were going to try this "separate lives together" concept, then she had to commit to it. Separate lives outside this place, but inside they had to stick it out, come what may.

So she went to the store, came home, put the groceries away, and began to finish her work and the laundry. Putting the projects "away" was difficult. With the clothes it was easy enough to put everything perfectly away as though he'd just left it there, but she had no idea how to lay his projects out the way he'd want them. In the end she'd decided simply to lay them out in the typical places he liked to work and when he got home he could organize them the way he wanted. One in the living room, one on the dining room table, one on the corner table in his office, even one in the family room on the table closest to the fireplace. They were where they were supposed to be. Rumpelstiltskin was not.

She watched the clock every second that she worked. In the morning the time was barely noticeable, now minutes seemed to pass by as hours. It was dinnertime for the rest of the world. She had groceries and she considered making dinner, something that could be ready for him when he came home…but then what if he didn't. She wanted to be optimistic, truly she did! But she knew this group, she knew how determined they could be and how sidetracked they could get. He was the guide and as far as she knew he had done his job to guide them down there, but without his magic he was at their mercy. They could stay for as long they wanted and he'd have no choice but to stay with them, their meal would go uneaten, his projects untouched.

The house was back together, but in the dying sun if she sat here by herself she'd go crazy. There was more to do, more that needed to be done outside the walls of this house while she waited for him to come back! In fact, one thing in particular stood out. He was gone, but she was here, and there were people in this town that wouldn't know that; people who deserved to know that.

With a deep breath she abandoned her watch, her food, her chores, she picked up her bag, and drove into town. She parked the car outside the pawnshop, glanced inside the windows just to be sure it looked locked up safe and sound as it had been last night and went into the library. It was bright and well lit, still open, but the circulation desk was empty. A small note that she herself had written sat upon the top. "Librarian upstairs, please knock for assistance". It was dinnertime. Maybe with both of them working they could figure out a schedule to keep the library manned at all times. But that wasn't important right now. She needed to talk to Rapunzel, to tell her she was still in town, after all the hard work she'd put into getting her out of town, she owed her that much.

Tucking her hair behind her ear she ascended the staircase that used to lead to her home. There were voices inside, voices that she instantly recognized as Rapunzel and Flynn and for a moment she considered turning around. A couple of nights ago she'd interrupted their date night as it was, there was really no need to do it again tonight. Until she heard the conversation on the other side of the door. "I'm sure she's fine, she probably just stopped somewhere to crash for the night."

"And the day?! She promised she'd call when she got there!"

"Babe, you don't even know where 'there' is, neither did she. Give the girl a break!"

The memories came flooding back and instantly she felt guilt. They were talking about her! And Rapunzel was right! She had promised she'd give her a call. She'd just been so swept up in Neal and her memories and then Rumpelstiltskin she'd completely forgotten!

She hated to interrupt their date again, but this was too important to let it go another day and she found herself reaching forward to knock on the door. There were footsteps and Rapunzel made a remark about going to work before the door flew open and-

Rapunzel stood before her for a moment, her eyes wide in shock, before a look of relief fell over her face and she reached forward with a sigh. "Oh my God, Belle, I've been so worried!" Her arms were around her a second later, hugging her so tight she could feel the tension. Until she pulled away and put her hands tight on her shoulders. "What are you doing here?! Where have you been?!"

She felt her cheeks blush. She honestly didn't know how to answer that question considering where she'd been and what she'd been doing. And then there was who was in the apartment. Flynn Rider, or Eugene, whatever his real name was, appeared over Rapunzel's shoulder and examined the situation. He nodded in her direction, his only greeting, before looking back over at Rapunzel.

"I'm gonna head out," he declared.

"What? No! You don't have to leave. We were supposed to have dinner and talk. You can stay with Belle and me."

"Yeah, that's a whole lotta 'nope'," he commented in a funny kind of way, as though Rapunzel had just told him he could stay over and braid his hair paint nails instead of talk. "See, you might not know this seeing as how you've been stuck in a tower most of your life, but I have a feeling this is about to evolve into a little something called 'girl talk, ' and that is something I definitely don't do. I wasn't born with the right equipment for that."

Rapunzel looked surprised for a moment then looked over at her. She smirked. All things considered he was probably right and she had to admit it but she was excited about the prospect of what this might become. Girl talk. She hadn't really had girl talk since Ruby left. It sounded far worse than it actually was, though. The picture that came to her mind every time someone used that phrase was nail polish and hair brushes, but she knew that she and Ruby had had some of the best conversations over girl talk. A little wine, a little ice cream...maybe a little girl talk was in order. She just felt bad that it had to come between the two of them.

"Girl talk isn't really something guys look forward to," she explained to the sheltered girl.

"Oh! Well, okay…"

"If you want I can come back later-"

"No! No, no, absolutely not! I can see Flynn any time; I want to know everything about where you've been."

"Wow, that was affirming. And on that note, I'm outta here before my pride takes any more hits!" Flynn decided.

This time Rapunzel smiled and allowed him to go. He stepped back for a quick kiss, promised her they'd reschedule, and after another nod moved around her and down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized as she stepped inside the apartment. The new configuration threw her every time. She kept expecting the furniture to be right where she'd placed it the last time she'd seen it...not like this.

"It's not a problem."

"It is," she corrected. "I've been on the other side of people constantly interrupting. I just wanted to come by and let you know I'm okay."

"And I'm grateful but…confused," she admitted as they took seats in the living room. "What happened? The last time I saw you, you were heading out of town! Now you're back!"

She nodded. "You remember the dreamcatcher you put in my car?"

"The one that wouldn't be any use where you were going?"

"Yes, that one…it turns out magic was what kept the memories there, and once I crossed the town line…"

"You got your memories back," Rapunzel assumed with a knowing smile.

She nodded. "I did. And I know that it must seem odd, Rumple wasn't even awake then, but knowing what happened in Camelot…it made a difference."

She was smiling, but Rapunzel's had disappeared into something skeptical. "Did it?" she questioned. "When you left, I thought for sure-"

"So did I," she confirmed already knowing her thoughts. "But I did a lot of growing in Camelot, I did a lot of talking to Merlin and even Neal-"

"Neal t-the dead one, Neal?"

"Sort of, but who I talked to isn't the point, it's what we talked about and Rumple…he's human now, he's not the Dark One anymore, and I think…I think I have to give this a chance. I think I'm ready to give this a chance."

Rapunzel nodded but still seemed skeptical. "You seem determined," she observed.

Suddenly she felt nervous, odd in a way. She wasn't exactly expecting Rapunzel to smile and leap up and down at the news, but she wasn't expecting this either. She wasn't expecting the doubt and skepticism. She had enough of it for herself. "Things won't be the same," she stated, but she wasn't sure who she was assuring, Rapunzel or herself. "We've already agreed that things can't be like they were and we're going to try to do some new things, have separate lives, work through some of our issues-"

"And is that where you've been for the last twenty-four hours? Working through your issues?"

She blushed again. They'd certainly been working thought something, though not necessarily the issues that Rapunzel thought it was…although judging from the look that she was giving her she could see the girl wasn't as ignorant as Ariel had been, but the blush on her cheeks indicated she wasn't as experienced as she was either.

"We are working through our issues. You uh…you don't approve."

"No! No, no, it's not that it's just…it's a big change compared to when I saw you last time."

She nodded, understanding the confusion, hoping that was really all it was. "It's the memories," she explained. "It's so odd, not to have part of you, even just six weeks, and so much can change in that time. So when my memories came back and I thought about everything that happened this week…I had to come back. And things will be different this time, they have to be now that he's human. We're going to have separate jobs, I'll work here in the library while he is at the shop, we're going to try not to be so attached at the hip, and then when we go home we'll work on us, our issues. I know it doesn't sound like much but it really is different than anything we've ever done before!"

"You don't have to justify yourself to me, really you don't," Rapunzel insisted. "Belle…you're my first real friend in…forever! If it weren't for you I wouldn't have half of what I have. I wouldn't have any of it, actually! I trust you and your judgement far more than my own, so if you say that this is right for you, if you say that you are going to work through things then I believe you. I support your decision and I'll be here every step of the way no matter what you need, even if it's just for some occasional girl talk; which I'm enjoying by the way!"

She giggled and was happy to feel the tension they'd had when she first announced her intentions vanish. She was still skeptical. She knew that she was, but the way she saw it she couldn't entirely blame her. Not when she was just as skeptical. But, with any luck, if her plan succeeded then in a few hours he'd be back at home with her and they'd begin the process of changing that.

"Good," she muttered. "I'm glad!"

"So, what did your father say?" Rapunzel asked pulling her legs up onto the chair and leaning forward to engage in the conversation with an interest she hadn't had before.

She on the other hand felt her heart sink. Her father. That was going to be a problem. He'd been so supportive of her leaving Storybrooke, getting away from Rumpelstiltskin, she knew that being back wasn't going to be an easy conversation for the pair of them. "I haven't told him yet. He uh…he doesn't even know I'm in town again! You're the only one that knows that, besides Rumple of course."

Rapunzel reeled back at that pronouncement. "Well…when are planning on telling him. Not today certainly, the day is nearly over!"

"No, not today. There's too much going on today. But…I don't know when I'll tell him. He's never really liked the idea of Rumpelstiltskin and I together. He's tolerated Rumple for my sake and the sake of our relationship, but I think if he knew I was back with him again…" she couldn't be sure their relationship would endure something like this again.

"Your father loves you, Belle," Rapunzel pointed out. "I'm sure he wants nothing more than what's best for you."

"It's in what's best for me that we so often disagree," she admitted with a little laugh. Rapunzel was right. Her father did want what was best for her, but his idea of what was best had been far different than what she wanted for herself even since before her mother died. He'd gotten better over the years, since they'd been in Storybrooke after Zelena's curse was broken. But she knew that he still objected. How long could she really expect him to sit back and not offer commentary or opinion on her choices? Especially when parts of her still rebelled against it.

"Well…if you'd like, I'll go with you when you tell him. I can be there the whole time, moral support!"

"Thanks…" she muttered, remembering how she'd wished someone, especially Neal, had been there when she went to tell her father she was engaged. That conversation had gone better than she'd hoped. She feared this one would go worse than she expected. As much as she wanted privacy in dealing with her father, support for this conversation might be nice, but this wasn't the kind she should take Rumple with her for. That was already a delicate relationship as it was. Rapunzel might be perfect for the job. "I'll think about it. But in the meantime, I have to focus on what I want my life to be like here in Storybrooke without Rumple and what I want it to look like with him; if that makes sense."

Rapunzel nodded. "Sounds like you've got a lot of thinking to do."

"Yes," she confirmed. "But first I have to actually meet Rumple when he comes back and talk about it with him. We can't keep making decisions without one another."

She laughed, but Rapunzel just looked confused. "Meet him when he comes back? From working or…"

"Yeah…that's the other thing…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Rapunzel here is meant to be interesting. She's growing to be one of my favorite characters because she's a friend of Belle that I'm finding I can fit in pretty easily to the canon, and after having so little of her I can kind of make her what I want her to be. And her role here is just that of a pure friend. She is neither for nor against Rumple; she is simply "pro-Belle." So she's skeptical, just like all of us would be if we had a friend that was in an on again off again relationship that so often entered it's "off again" status in tears. She wants to be sure her friend is happy and healthy and taken care of. I suppose in a sense she is there to act as a conscious for Belle and to ask the questions that we ourselves have probably asked.
> 
> Big thank yous to Deweymay for the lovely comments you left on the previous chapter! Much appreciated as always! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well and I can't wait to hear what you think of it! Peace and Happy Reading!


	7. Never Only A Day

"They went to the Underworld?!" Rapunzel took the news of the Underworld adventure about was well as she did when Rumple first told her. She listened quietly as she explained what Rumple had explained to her the day before and it was only when she got to the end of her story that she blanched looking more than skeptical.

"So far as I know, they did. As long as everything went according to plan."

"According to plan," she balked. "Is a plan like that even possible? Do they really expect they can bring Hook back to life?"

She sighed and shook her head with a disbelieving smile. The memory of Rumpelstiltskin telling her about their "plan" was still fresh in her mind. She had a feeling she knew the answer. "I don't think so," she answered. "The way Rumple talked about it…I have a feeling that it's just something he's going along with, allowing Emma to grieve."

Rapunzel shook her head and looked sad. "That I understand. After someone dies the world just seems…" she seemed lost for words. She wasn't a stranger to loss and death. It seemed like another lifetime ago but she could remember learning about Rapunzel's history in the Enchanted Forest. The whole reason she'd been led to that tower, to the root that put her there in the first place was because she had lost her brother.

"I never said I was sorry for your brother," she muttered breaking the silence and drawing her eyes up from the place she was staring.

She smirked. "I never said I was sorry for losing Neal. Some things you assume are implied after a while. And anyway, it's not important at the moment. I understand why Emma would want to do it, why she would want to go to the Underworld, but…why would Rumpelstiltskin?"

"Oh, they needed his blood to open the portal to the Underworld."

It was obvious to her, but the look on Rapunzel's face suggested that she was still speaking gibberish. "So…?" she questioned timidly.

"So…without him they couldn't get there."

"No, I mean, why was that his problem? I mean…no offense, but since when does he care that Emma or anyone else gets what they want?"

She opened her mouth to respond…but the words didn't come to her. She felt her stomach turn over. She didn't want to admit it…but Rapunzel was right. Doing this was out of character for him. She'd thought of that herself yesterday before he'd left but she hadn't found the time to actually ask him about it or even really think about it throughout today. Why was he doing this?

"Well hey, it must be the human side of him now right," Rapunzel offered for her a moment later. "I mean it's not like he's got magic or darkness inside of him anymore, anybody would want to help someone when they were mourning, and it's not like they were taking him away forever, just for a day. That has to be it. Right?"

"Right," she breathed after a moment. "Yes, that...that must be it." It must have been the reason. She'd thought herself that now that he was without magic there were going to be things about him that were different. This very well could be one of them. But she couldn't get it out of her head the rest of the time that they talked.

The only time she'd even had the smallest glimmer of distraction was when she'd finally decided that she had to leave to go pick up Rumple and Rapunzel stopped her at the door. "Oh! Wait! Before you go you'll probably want this back!"

She turned to find Rapunzel pulling something familiar off the cabinet by the stove. It was so familiar she didn't know why she hadn't noticed it there before. "My rose!" she exclaimed as the cool glass touched her fingers. She felt herself smirk, suddenly happy it was in her arms again, and in response, without even the thought from her, the fog melted away as if it was just as happy to see her. The rose inside was still perfect, bloomed, and amazingly bright.

"Hey, there really is a rose in there," Rapunzel smiled. Yes, she supposed that without her the jar had just stayed foggy. She'd given it to her nights ago, just before she was determined to leave Storybrooke, because it was made of magic and she feared what would happen to it if she took it out into the World Without Magic. Probably it would have disappeared, just as her memories reappeared.

She thanked Rapunzel for keeping her precious flower safe and set it down on the passenger seat in the car before driving off to the park and sitting in the car at the exact same spot she'd said good-bye to him at yesterday. The rose bloomed bright at her the entire time, she should have taken it as a good sign, but once more the conversation she'd had with Rapunzel caught up with her.

Why would he have gone to the Underworld?

Rapunzel was right, that had to be it. He wasn't the Dark One anymore. Naturally, he was going to be different. She just didn't know how different. The truth was that since he'd been mortal she hadn't seen much of him and the time that they did have together they had been fighting, either with each other or Emma. And of course there was the time that she'd had with him privately just before he'd left, but she honestly didn't think that there would be any kind of difference she would sense during those times. Even in the past, when he'd been at his worst, she had always sensed more of the human, the man, inside of him at those times. It wasn't worth comparing those times, it wasn't around her that she'd ever had to worry about his behavior. He'd always been on his best behavior then, conniving and concealing, perhaps, but still on his best behavior.

Like he'd been before he left.

Suddenly she felt her chest tighten. Her thoughts froze as her heart raced and a new thought popped into her head.

What if nothing had changed? What if he was still lying? What if he still had magic?!

She put her head back against the seat and took several deep breaths. She had to loosen the scarf she was wearing around her throat and found that there were tears gathering in her eyes. She sniffled as she fought to contain her dark thoughts and calm herself down.

It wasn't true. It just wasn't. She knew that it wasn't. It wasn't possible! She knew how that curse worked, she'd probably read more about it than anyone and knew the ins and outs of it. Except of course for Rumple. And maybe Emma. Reading and being with someone who was cursed wasn't exactly the same as actually having the curse. It wasn't possible that they knew something she didn't. Did they?

No! No, of course, they didn't! It was ludicrous! The curse was gone. The truth had come from Henry's mouth, not Rumple. She trusted Henry and she trusted because of his shock when he saw her come back into the Pawn Shop that he hadn't been masquerading as Henry. Which he couldn't do because he didn't have magic! He was mortal again! He'd had nothing to do with the destruction of the curse.

Henry told her. Emma had the sword. Emma had stabbed Killian. She had gotten rid of the curse, and now Killian was dead, end of story. If Henry hadn't told her she never even would have guessed that Rumple was there!

It wasn't possible. It wasn't.

But from the way her heart was pounding she knew that these last couple of days were not enough to get rid of the scars from his former lies. She stood by what she'd talked about with Bae in the car the night she could have left. Coming back was the right thing to do. It was the brave thing to do. But that moment had passed and now a new challenge greeted her. Now, the brave thing was staying here, enduring these feelings of betrayal and fear, and working through them. In all honesty she wasn't sure that was a bravery that would ever end. The wounds he'd inflicted upon her were deep and she'd learned that scars never truly went away. Time might lessen it, years from now she might not hardly be affected by it at all. But the time between then and now had to be spent carefully. It would take the two of them. Which was hard to do when he was nowhere to be seen!

Once again calm she looked out over the park that he'd had her take him to yesterday. It was quiet. It was peaceful. There was no sign of anyone. It had been a day. It had been more than a day, according to the clock now it had been twenty-seven hours since she'd said good-bye to him. She was tired. She was ready to take Rumple home and get some rest.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

She knew what he'd said when he left. And she knew what she'd thought when he'd gone. It was easy to think that she'd been right. To just give in to her sadness and begin her wait. But she tried to push those thoughts away. There was a time that she didn't let what was easy effect her and tried to think of logical conclusions. What could be holding them back?

This place. It was the only thing that she could think of. Just because there was a portal here didn't mean it was the only portal or the way that they would return. She supposed it was always possible that they were back already or had returned by another portal? She looked down at her phone. If he was back and she was nowhere to be seen then she could only assume that he'd call her.

Did he have his phone on him when he'd left? Car keys? Keys to the house?!

She didn't know. What was more, she knew that she'd dug up the spare key to get into the house when Regina had taken her heart. Had she ever put it back?! Not that she could remember. He could be standing outside their home right now, home and unable to contact her! That thought was enough to push her out of the parking lot and drive back home, hoping for the best, fearing for the worst. It only took a few minutes and when she arrived she saw…nothing. The house was dark. There was no indication anyone was inside. No one was sitting outside. There was no sign of life. No proof that anyone but her had been in the house that day. She parked in the driveway and breathed out a frustrated sigh and as she hung her head in despair.

Not home. One day had passed and he wasn't home. He'd promised this trip would only be one day! But they'd never talked about how to pick him up or retrieve him? What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to know for sure he wasn't here if she didn't even know if he had keys or a phone?!

She could go knock on Mary Margaret's door. If they didn't answer then no one was here. Or…

"Granny's!"

If they were back and successful, or even if they weren't, then the entire town would be talking about it and meeting at Granny's! It was passed closing time for her of course. But she'd be locking the diner up if they weren't there and surely wouldn't kick the party and good tips to the curb if they were! She quickly backed the car out of its parking spot and drove back to town. The pawn shop was dark, the lights in the library apartment were on, and so were the lights in Granny's Diner!

She felt a flare of excitement as she pulled up…and saw that the lights were on but no one was inside. Or almost no one. Granny was there, of course, sweeping. Chairs were on top of tables, the kitchen lights were bright, but the sign outside was off. There was no celebration, no commiserating, no proof that anyone had returned home tonight. But finally her frustration grew and she got out of the car and ran up the steps to the building.

"Granny!"

"Belle?" she exclaimed looking confused when she entered the diner.

"Have you seen them?" she questioned. "Heard from any of them? Emma? Mary Margaret? Rumple?"

"Nope!" she answered quickly turning back to her sweeping. "Haven't heard anything from any of them. And no one was talking about it at dinner tonight."

She felt her heart finally fall in defeat. "Nothing…" she breathed, more as an observation than a question. But nonetheless Granny shook her head.

"Nothing," she confirmed sweeping dust into a pan before picking them up and walking away. "Can't say I'm shocked, though. It never takes only a day."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of filler. Filler that I wrote because I was always interested in what would happen the first night when he didn't come back from the Underworld. Also, I really wanted to get the rose back into her hands and it was a good time after talking to Rapunzel. There was a reason I gave it to her at the end of MC&U. Not to mention I wanted to plant those seeds in her mind early on that something isn't quite right with Rumple. This was the best way to do it, have someone recognize that Rumpelstiltskin doing something for nothing is not a normal move.
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, for the comments you left on the last chapter! I'm glad that everyone likes the idea of Rapunzel and Belle as friends. She does need a friend desperately and I like that I can use a character like her easily in this fiction. One episode means I can pretty much turn her into whatever I want to and I do hope you'll like where the relationship goes! Peace and Happy Reading!


	8. A Non-Magical Emergency

She hated to admit it, but she'd still gone home hopeful, even after Granny confirmed what she'd been thinking. She'd retrieved her rose from the front of the car, as well as everything in the trunk that she'd planned on taking with her outside of Storybrooke, and brought it into the house to find its rightful place. The rose she set on her nightstand. It still worked the way that it always had. With only a thought the fogged glass melted away and revealed a perfectly healthy Rumpelstiltskin. Wherever he was, he was alive and well, and she hoped that where he was at that moment was on his way back to Storybrooke.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she expected that she'd wake up the next morning and find his body next to her own in the bed. She'd find that he'd kept his word and returned in the middle of the night, and unwilling to wake her just went to sleep.

But clearly, he hadn't. Instead, that morning, she sat up and took a deep breath hanging her head in her hands before glancing back over at the rose. He was still safe. It wasn't as good as being home, but it was at least comforting to see that the rose was whole. For now, she supposed that she'd have to exist on that and that alone. So long as it was working…

A dreaded thought suddenly crept up on her. What if the rose wasn't working anymore?

No, no of course not that was silly! Of course, it was working! It was linked to him, it had been for the last two and a half months, even in Camelot!

So long as he was in the coma.

No. Now she was being ridiculous. Paranoid beyond what she'd been last night. The rose worked. It was linked to him. He was fine.

Wasn't he?

With a frustrated groan, she pushed the covers back. "It never takes a day…"

The morning passed quickly. She managed to assure herself that it was safe to leave her rose behind at the house on her nightstand and go into town. Her goal was to go to the library, but she had to admit that she faltered a bit when she saw the shop. Should she go over? The library had Rapunzel. Maybe she should just…

No. The pawn shop was his domain. If they were going to be separate, then they'd be separate. For now, she needed to be an investor and nothing more. Except maybe the person that stopped by on occasion to clean because she knew he wouldn't and she couldn't stand to think of the dust that would build. With that thought, she went to the library and checked in with Rapunzel.

"Any news?" she asked right away.

She shook her head. "They didn't come back…"

"Yet," she insisted quickly enough. "They aren't back yet, but they will be."

"The problem is when. If he's not back today then when? A week. A month? A year?!"

Rapunzel nodded sadly. "I know. But what's important is that he will come back. You know Emma and David. They might be determined to complete their mission, but they will complete it one day. They will bring him home."

Yes, they'd bring him home. Her concern was how they'd bring him home.

"Rapunzel…when you kept my bell jar…it didn't do anything…odd, did it?"

"Odd?" she questioned. "Odd like…"

"Just odd. Signs that it wasn't working, that it was just a normal rose?"

"A normal magical rose suspended in midair without the assistance of wires or a vase in a bell jar with no bottom?"

She snickered at the implications and even managed a smile, she same she used to have whenever Ruby made her laugh in times of stress. It really was nice to have a friend again. "Yes, that is exactly what I meant."

"Sorry," Rapunzel apologized. "The rose never revealed itself without you forcing it to and I never noticed if anything was wrong with it. Why? Are you worried that it's not working right?"

She shrugged. What was she thinking? She wasn't even really sure anymore. "I don't know, I'm probably just being paranoid, too much time on my hands to think about silly things."

Rapunzel nodded again. She understood. She wasn't quite sure how she understood her so well after so little time together, but she liked having someone on her side. Though it did seem that Rapunzel liked having someone on her side as well, or at the very least someone around to help.

"Well, fortunately for you, I have just the thing to take your mind off of it, work and lots of it!"

"Aren't I supposed to be your boss?" she questioned as she began to move about the library.

Rapunzel wasn't wrong. Aside from the cleaning Rapunzel had instituted a children's hour at the library and at eleven o'clock they came, parents of young children who weren't in school yet, at least a dozen of them, stood around while their children sat down on a rug in the back room and because it was a Saturday their older brothers and sisters wandered through the shelves, reading books, whispering too loud, and occasionally yelling something childish, like the word "penis" too loud just to see what would happen. Archie was the guest reader that morning. He read a tale about a mouse who wanted to be a sorcerer's apprentice and the small children hung on every word. Even the parents were quiet. At the end of the hour parents walked out with their strollers, diaper bags over their shoulders, and big smiles on their faces with all their children in tow. Rapunzel smiled as Archie joined the two of them at the front desk. She'd never checked out so many books so fast in all the time she'd been here!

"And now they all go to lunch at Granny's," Rapunzel commented. "Come out to entertain the kids and get some adult entertainment afterward."

"It's a perfect idea," she'd reveled. Rapunzel was good at coming up with ideas, so much so that she would have panicked and felt unneeded if only she hadn't inspected the shelves carefully. The books were stacked, but not necessarily in the place that they should have been. The windows were clean, but the ledges weren't dusted. The floors were swept, but they weren't mopped. Bills were paid, but they weren't organized. In a way, it was a good discovery. Though there was a lot to do, she realized that there was room enough for both of them in this place. And maybe even more too.

Flynn picked Rapunzel up for lunch. They offered to take her along, but she decided to stay behind and instead Rapunzel promised she'd bring her back something to eat. The call came when she was halfway through her soup. Her cell phone rang and for a moment she dared to hope that it was Granny, or Emma, or even Rumple telling her that they were back and she could pick him up. Instead, she noticed the call came from the convent.

"Mother?" she assumed.

"Belle!" she answered so desperately that she knew right away this wasn't a social call.

"What can I do for you?"

"We need some back up over here," the nun responded quickly.

She felt her stomach turn over and grabbed Rapunzel's arm, letting her know that something was happening. She stopped what she was doing and looked over at her, instantly concerned. "What's wrong? What's happening? Is it Rumple?"

The answer didn't come from Mother Superior, though, at least not right away. It came in the form of a scream, specifically a baby's cry. It was a baby cry she could have sworn she recognized.

"Is that…is that Neal?"

"No…" but just then another cry came through, and she heard Mother Superior let out a frustrated sigh. "That was Neal. The other one was Robin's daughter."

The sound of the crying began to die away, and she heard Mother Superior's voice giving out unidentifiable orders to someone else. She was still busy trying to process what she was hearing. Neal and Robin's daughter were at the convent?

Rapunzel grabbed her arm and gave her an odd look right back, still wondering what was wrong. She was wondering the same thing in all honesty. What was going on?

"W-why are the kids at the convent? Are they in danger? Just tell me what you need?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing like that for once."

"Then what exactly is the problem?" she demanded. Should she be panicking?

"The problem is that we volunteered to take the kids a couple of nights ago, but we were certain it would only be for a day or so. We aren't equipped to deal with children for this long-"

"Mother, slow down," she insisted trying to stop the rambling. They'd had the kids for a while? How long was a while? Before Hook died? After? Why would they leave the kids with them and not Granny? Or her?! Wasn't she the designated babysitter for Neal?

"Hey!" Rapunzel hissed at her. "What's going on?" she questioned still looking panicked. She shook her head and waved her hand in the air trying to tell her it was fine, though she did enjoy seeing someone else panic so easily. It made her feel like she wasn't the only one prone to constantly think the worst.

"What exactly do you need?"

"So much…" she heard the fairy mutter sounding exhausted over the phone. She wasn't necessarily sure that she was supposed to hear that.

"Mother?"

"A friendly face," she inserted suddenly. "Neal knows you, so does the boy-"

"The boy?"

"We need someone who knows them to assure them everything is alright. Can you come?"

Confused as she was, she glanced around the inactive library where Rapunzel was working on the computer better than she ever had even after Will's lessons. Judging by this conversation and the fact that it was the longest time she'd ever spoken to the Blue Fairy over the phone she decided that it was better to go up to the convent and figure out exactly what was happening and then decide what the emergency was.

"Yeah, sure, just give me five minutes or so to drive up there-"

"Belle!" she interrupted again.

"Wait! Mother…there's something I have to ask you before you go!"

"Belle-"

"Please it's about my rose, the one that you gave me!" she inserted before she could hang up. "Please, I just have to know that it's still working! That it's still linked to him."

The was a pause on the other side of the phone for a moment before Mother Superiors very stressed voice responded "why wouldn't it?! Belle, I created that rose to link you to him, no matter what, no matter where. If the rose is dying then so is he, if the rose is healthy-"

"Then so is he," she finished with a sigh of relief, despite the insistence of her voice. "Thank you, Mother. I'll be up to the convent in only a few moments, I promise."

"Belle, that's what I've been trying to tell you!"

"What?" she questioned, finally giving in and pressing a hand to her other ear. The screaming was getting louder, it was getting more and more difficult to hear her. How bad was it up there?

"There might be one other thing we need you to do first…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas, I could not resist. We'll learn this in the next chapter but if it seems like Mother Superior is really at the end of her rope here, it's because I wrote her to be. I don't know about you, but she's never exactly seemed like one that would like babysitting. It's just something about her demeanor. Then again maybe it's the super sketchy side of Questionable-Old-Blue. The people of Storybrooke don't seem to get that same sense, obviously as they leave their children with her. But I figured, that if it were a convent, where they are not used to keeping children twenty-four hours a day, and they suddenly had multiple children including two screaming babies in their laps non-stop, by this point things would be a bit desperate. Then again, maybe all this is the reason I'm not the mothering type and don't particularly care for anything under the age of three.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	9. Finding a Third Option

In all her life she never thought that she'd ever have to break into Regina's house. In all her life she'd never thought that the Blue Fairy would ask her to break into Mary Margaret and Regina's house in one day! And yet that was exactly what she'd asked of her on this day.

Fortunately, it wasn't as big a deal as she would have assumed it was years ago. She found a key to Mary Margaret's apartment on the top of the door frame, a classic hiding place according to her alter-ego, and at Regina's house, ironically enough, a couple bobby pins and Lacey's lock-picking expertise were all that she really needed.

In Mary Margaret's apartment she was able to quickly pick up diapers and some of the breast milk sitting in the fridge, then a couple of onesies and squeeze them into a diaper bag. At Regina's house, she went room to room until she found what she would have thought was a guest room if the toys in the corner didn't give it away as the place that Roland was staying. She took some clothing for him as well, since she'd finally gotten the Blue Fairy to admit that "the boy" staying with them was Roland. She grabbed the clothes that she had requested and on her way out saw a stuffed monkey sitting on the bed that she hadn't seen in a year! She smiled as she picked it up, unaware how or when it had been found, but remembering all the times Roland had carried it around the castle, precious as it had been to him, she added it to her pile. True, she had a feeling she didn't know the entire situation just yet, but she had a feeling he'd need the comfort.

But when she turned to her next task in Regina's house, she found that it was the only one she couldn't complete. Just as she had for Neal, Mother Superior had requested clothes and formula for the little girl. But there was nothing for the baby here.

Of course, there wasn't, Robin's child hadn't been due for months it was too early to find formula or clothes or even toys for her. She thought about giving the baby some of Mary Margaret's…but the thought made her turn her nose up. It was odd, she'd lived in a world where Queens used wet nurses to feed their children all the time. That was how she'd gotten her own nurse after all! But here the thought of giving the baby girl what was Neal's seemed strange when alternatives were readily available, so she made an additional stop at Dark Star Pharmacy, picked up a bit of formula, had Sneezy show her how to mix it and heat it up, she grabbed a few onsies for the little girl at a small shop on main street, then drove up to the convent.

Altogether, it was nearly an hour and a half after she'd gotten the call that she finally arrived. She could hear the kids screams from outside. Inside the convent, she saw women walking around with ear plugs to dull the noise that only seemed to echo and magnify through the halls. It was surprising. Neal was usually an angel when she was watched him, sure the first couple of times had been difficult, but after he got used to someone, he never cried. Had it been this bad?

"Mother!" she called finally spotting the woman across the hall and practically running over to her. "I brought it, all of it, everything you needed. Where are the…what?"

The Blue Fairy had initially seemed happy to see her, but now she was looking her up and down with a look of shock on her face; shock and confusion she didn't understand the source of.

"Mother?"

"You're…" But then, instead of finishing that thought, she shook her head and looked back up into her eyes. "Nothing, you just look tired. Are you sleeping? Eating right?"

Her questions completely caught her off guard. The last time they'd talked it would have seemed that the world would end if she didn't get the stuff they needed to the babies right away! Now she wanted to stop and talk about sleeping and eating? Which, really, was a silly question.

She shook her head and tried to remember to keep an even temper. "Rumple is away in the Underworld, hours overdue, and the kids need me, sleeping and eating are far from my mind at the moment. Where are they?"

It took a moment, but all at once Mother Superior seemed to regain herself and nodded. "Just follow the noise," she encouraged motioning for her to follow her down the hall. "They've been screaming since they woke up two hours ago. But this wasn't supposed to be forever! We're out of provisions, and that's not even the worst of it!"

"What's the worst of it? And…how long have they been here exactly?!"

"Almost three days," she answered as the crying grew louder. "Robin and Regina brought Roland and the baby the night the Dark Ones returned. They informed us that Neal might need to be picked up at a later time. We took custody of him after Granny found him alone in the diner."

"Alone! Why didn't anyone call me?!"

"She said she did and you didn't respond."

That nearly knocked her off her feet. Suddenly she remembered. It was true. The night that she'd almost left town Granny had called her. She'd been on the road and since she was leaving didn't see any reason to take the call, couldn't think of any reason to allow herself to be held back. That was the reason. Neal had been alone, and she hadn't come. But she had now. That counted for something at least.

"We collected Neal and protected ourselves with the most powerful spells we could. After Killian died everyone asked us to hold on to the children to avoid 'the drama' of the quick burial and to be with Emma. We knew they were going to the Underworld, but we believed they'd be back last night. They never arrived, and now we are in over our head."

"Belle!" the minute she opened a set of doors to another corridor she felt Roland's form smack into her, making the bags around her sway when she leaned over to hug him back.

"Roland," she stooped down and picked the small boy up only to find he wasn't small. It had really been an entire year since she'd watched him in Regina's castle, since she'd picked him up for any reason and she was surprised to find that he wasn't as little as she remembered. He was still young, without a doubt, but he had also grown. Now he was half her size and much heavier, but she managed even without the bags on her shoulder.

"Roland!" Mother Superior chastised. "You shouldn't climb on her like that."

"It's alright."

"He shouldn't climb on anyone, no matter what their condition, at his age."

"So this is where you've been hiding," she said looking at the boy and ignoring the fairy's unnecessary comment.

The boy nodded. "I don't like it, though. It's really loud when the babies cry. Have you seen my Daddy or Regina and Henry? Are they coming to save me?" he asked looking her over hopefully.

Her heart sank, and she slowly lowered the boy back to the floor. "I'm sorry Roland, they're not home yet. But I did bring someone from home to help make things easier!" she pulled the winged monkey out and expected the boy to smile and grab him happily out of her hands. Instead, his face fell. He took the doll from her hands with a frown and sat down on a bench staring at it. She nearly broke into tears herself watching him with it.

"This really isn't the place for him," Mother Superior muttered, or did her best to mutter over the oblivious crying. "He should be in school, with his family. We're only just barely set up to be a nursery, we are not equipped to be a daycare for a boy of his age."

"Well…why isn't he in school?" she asked. "it's time, everyone has gone back, and he is the right age!"

"We checked when they dropped him off, he's not registered, and it's not within our power to do it for him. The choice is his father's, but either way he's here and we're not really sure what to do with him."

Watching him sit there on the bench, alone, looking utterly and completely devastated she wasn't even sure she knew what could be done about Roland. But she did know what she could do about the screams. It was Neal. Well, actually it was both, but she could hear in Neal's screams that he needed to be held, and with Robin's daughter being so young she figured that his screams were only egging hers on.

With a sigh, she let Roland be and followed the sound of the cries. The pair of them turned down another hallway just up ahead, a statue of the Virgin Mary marked the right passage and at the end of the small hallway, she found a large room that was set up as a nursery. It was probably a good place for children during Sunday services, but for now, it was nothing like home to the two squealing children she saw in the cribs beside her. In an effort to get the noise to stop first, she dropped her bags onto a chair, ignored the baby in pink in the first crib, and scooped the blue dressed Neal up in her arms.

"What is all this fuss you are making?" she asked bumping him up and down. "Hey there. Hey, hey, you know me," she cooed as she reached into the diaper bag and grabbed one of the essential things that Mother Superior had needed her to grab from Mary Margaret's loft; a bottle. She popped the cap off of his, and when he was calm enough to figure out what she was doing, he finally settled and let her feed him. Mother Superior finally came into the room, Roland holding her hand, though the moment they were there he let go and quickly ran over to sit in a rocking chair with a picture book about animals. Mother Superior looked shocked.

"None of the other fairies have had that kind of luck with him! You'll make a good mother."

She shook her head and continued to handle him so she could expertly check his diaper. "You just have to know how to handle him. He gets fussy when he's hungry, and he needs to be held when he's awake. And…he needs his diaper changed. I'll do that when he's finished."

"Any insights for her?" Mother Superior questioned picking up the first baby, the baby dressed in pink.

She frowned as she moved closer to the baby. "No, I only ever saw her for a moment the day she was born. I don't even know her name."

"Neither do we," Mother Superior pointed out, copying her bouncing. She fumbled with the second bottle and happily gave her the second bottle she'd brought. "Ah, quiet," Mother Superior breathed in what looked like relief. She closed her eyes as if savoring the peace for a moment before turning back to her. "Robin said she doesn't have a name yet."

"He can't give her a name, he doesn't know her!" Roland piped up behind them. His voice made the small girl begin to stir Mother Superior did her best to quiet her again, but she was fussy, far worse than Neal had ever been.

"Here, switch with me. Now that he's eating he should let you hold him."

They swapped children with a series of complex moves, and before she knew it, she was holding the tiny, unfamiliar girl in her arms. She bounced her up and down, cooed her until she quieted and opened her eyes just the tiniest bit to look up at her. She was beautiful. She couldn't imagine how hard it had been for Robin to leave her at such a young age. It was true what Roland had said, she knew it was. How much time had Robin actually spent with his daughter before things got crazy and he'd had to leave her here?

"She's so big!" she blanched into the silence, glancing between her and little Neal. "She's nearly as big as Neal is! He's…what…five months old now?!"

Mother Superior nodded glancing over at her bundle. "We think that is residual from when Emma sped up the pregnancy. She kept growing far beyond the normal rate outside the womb, advancing a couple of months…maybe more."

Suddenly she felt a hand tug on the bottom of her coat and looked down to find Roland standing there looking up at her. "Am I allowed to hold her yet?"

"No, Roland, you know the rules," Mother Superior answered surprisingly.

"No?' she questioned. "Why won't Robin let him hold her?" It was odd, she'd seen Roland hold Neal on more than one occasion when he was smaller than his sister was. Why was this little girl any different?

"He's a child," Mother Superior reasoned. It nearly made her laugh. No wonder Mother Superior had sounded so stressed on the phone, she was doing alright with the babies, but with Roland, she really was over her head.

"He's okay, he'll be careful. Besides, he's the only family she's got in town right now. It'll be good for them!"

Mother Superior didn't argue with her, just allowed her to get Roland situated on the rocking chair, hold out his arms, and finally settle the baby into his brother's arms. He was good at it, which wasn't surprising, he'd held Neal before, he knew to watch her head and more or less just let her lay there on his lap. She didn't cry, and within minutes she was asleep again.

"I'll change her diaper after Neal," she commented taking him from Mother Superior and laying him on the changing table. "I took these from Mary Margaret's, they should get you through a few more days," she explained showing the diapers and wipes that she'd taken, grabbing two now for the kids. "I'll come back with more formula tomorrow."

"He's good with her."

She glanced over her shoulder to see Mother Superior watching Roland and his sister like a hawk. "Of course he is, he's been around babies before." Though after this, she wasn't sure she could really say the same about Mother Superior. Odd, she would always have assumed that fairies were good with children, but then again she supposed that granting wishes was an action that didn't involve much child care. And she already knew the track record of one dark fairy in particular...

"It's good to see him smile," Mother Superior commented as she shivered at her own memories. "He's been so miserable here. And it's not that we don't enjoy having him but he's a child, we're not set up as a daycare. He's loud, he wakes the babies, he should be in school, with kids his own age. He should be learning and playing on playsets, not here looking at picture books and being told to be quiet."

Her heart dropped as she realized what she was going to ask before she even breathed the words. "I can't take him," she whispered with wide eyes.

"You're good with kids, he likes you-"

"Robin wanted him here."

"While the town was in danger, yes. But the town isn't in danger anymore, and this is getting to be more of a problem than a solution. The babies are one thing but a child of his age...we don't have room."

"I don't have room either!" she hissed.

"But you could make room?!"

No. No, she couldn't! She had no idea how long an arrangement like this would last and while she was happy to come up here every day to deliver supplies and see the kids she couldn't take Roland! She understood the problem, but she also knew that she wasn't the solution that Mother Superior thought she was.

But then…

Looking at Roland now and remembering what he'd looked like when she first stepped inside, she knew that Mother Superior was right. The babies could go anywhere. Demanding as they were, so long as they had a crib or place to sleep, they would be just fine. Roland needed more. He needed space, he needed somewhere he could be comfortable, somewhere to run, to play, someone to watch him while he played that wouldn't be put off by the task, someone who knew Robin, who knew Roland, someone like family…but wasn't family.

She couldn't think of one person that matched that description, but she could think of a group.

"I think I might know the perfect place for him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed this chapter to explain a few different things that I thought were odd in 5B. For example, Roland just kind of disappears. We know that baby Robyn is with the nuns, but what about Roland? The next time we see him it's with Little John and the rest of the Merry Men leaving Storybrooke. The trip to the Underworld was such a spur of the moment thing it didn't seem likely to me that they would have the sense to drop him off in the woods and even if they had they've had the kids much longer than that. Robin and Regina left Roland with the nuns before the trip to the Underworld. He'd been there ever since Hook made his threat! So how did he get from there to the woods again? This seemed to be the simplest way to do it. Nanny!Belle to the rescue! The other thing it explains is why Neal and Robyn have different bottles. It's small, I know, but when "Mother Superior" grabbed the "wrong bottle" from Belle a few episodes later I always thought to myself "why would it matter?" They're both babies, I assume Belle is washing and sanitizing the bottles, so why would it make a difference wich one Neal and Robyn get. I do remember from way back in 4A though that Mary Margaret was breastfeeding and with that comes the pumping, so that was how I explained that little detail. Not perfect, but it is what it is and hopefully it's good enough.
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, for your comments on the previous chapter. You are so gracious to comment over and over again. And though I've said it so many times I sound like a broken record, it really is appreciated. A lot of work goes into the Moments Series and it's really nice to know that people enjoy the work that come out of it. On to the next! Where are we going next? Into the woods, hopefully to a conversation that I think you'll enjoy. Peace and Happy Reading!


	10. Home Will Be Where The Heart Is

It wasn't difficult to convince Roland that going somewhere new was a good idea. All she had to do was kneel down next to him and ask if he wanted to go live somewhere else. He answered happily with a "yes!" but then looked down at the baby still draped over his arms. "But what about my sister? What about baby Neal? Can they come too?"

"No," she answered giving the girls cheek a small stroke. "They need to stay here where they can sleep. They'll be safe here, and you'll be safe where you are going too, but you don't just need a place to sleep, you need a place to play and be noisy and learn…do you want that?"

He looked down at the baby again but eventually nodded. "Can I come visit?"

She smiled. "Of course you can!"

After that she didn't waste time, it was going to be dinner time in a couple of hours, and she wanted Roland to be part of that. She took the baby from his arms, changed her, and packed up the little that Roland had there at the convent, before departing. The nuns waved good-bye, but it was too happily for her to be convinced that they'd miss having the young child with them. It was surprising, she'd watched Roland for a number of days at Regina's castle and never found him to be a hassle. Obviously, these women weren't cut out for long-term child care in more than one way.

She put Roland in the car and they made one final stop at Regina's to pick up whatever he wanted for "a week or so". "Is that how long before I see Daddy and Regina again?" he asked as he used one of Henry's old backpacks to put toys into.

She opened her mouth to answer but had to close it again. Should she tell him the truth? That she didn't really know? That they were already late getting home? What was she supposed to say to the boy?

"Well…it might be a little less, it might be a little longer. But you'll be comfortable until he's back this way, happier, don't you think?"

He nodded and finished putting his toys in the backpack. She helped him into it and he declared himself "ready". Roland and his things packed in the car she began to drive once more, passed houses and roads and trees and then more trees. She drove Roland almost out to the edge of town, deep into the woods where there was no electricity or homes. Only tents. And men who cooked over an open fire, never seemed affected by the cold, and smiled wide when they saw the small boy.

"Roland!"

"Little John!" he cried running over and launching himself into the air. The large man caught him and laughed as he secured him against his side.

"Where have you been, little man?"

"Everywhere! I went to Camelot!"

"I know that, I heard you are a hero! That you saved the whole town."

"What?! I didn't do that!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!"

"Maybe you are just talking to the wrong people!" The boy let out a giggle as John tickled his side. "Where's your father, kid?"

"He's gone, Belle brought me," he said motioning over to where she was standing and smiling at them. It was only then that John looked over and noticed her standing there. He kept his smile, but she could see it falter in his eyes, as if he knew that bad news was coming.

"Eh, Roland, why don't you run along, show the guys what you brought. We're about to have dinner."

"Deer?"

"Goose!"

"Yes!" he exclaimed wriggling out of the man's arms. "We never had goose at the church! Hi everyone!" he hollered running over to the merry men.

She heard distance shouts calling his name happily and she felt assurance slip through her body. She knew this was the right place to put him.

"Belle…" John muttered stepping up to her. "It's been a while, Robin's not…"

"What? Oh! No! No, absolutely not!" Little John sighed, and she instantly felt guilty. She should have known that would be the first thing that they'd think if she randomly turned up to deliver Roland to them.

"We heard news of a funeral in town but hadn't heard who it was for. When I saw Roland…"

"He's fine," she assured him again. "At least I think he is, the funeral wasn't for him. It was for Killian."

"Jones? Captain Hook?!"

She nodded, somewhat shocked that the news of what had happened hadn't made its way out here, but on the other hand she supposed she shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't as if they got the Mirror every morning and Robin hadn't even really had time to stop by and say hello to his children since Killian had died, it wasn't that surprising that he hadn't made it out here to tell the merry men. And they weren't like Will. Little John was their default leader and he didn't have a life or reason to go to town like Will had.

"Um…" she sighed and shoved some hair out of her face as she glanced around to be sure Roland was happy before arriving back at Little John. She wished that she wasn't the one to have to do this. She hadn't even really been there. "I don't really know what you know."

"Last I heard Emma was the Dark One and Robin was staying in town with Regina while they tried to figure out where their memory of what happened in Camelot went. We helped herd the wandering Camelotians into the campsite a few weeks ago but beyond that…"

"Well…the short version is that the curse is over!" she offered cautiously as good news. May as well start with the good part. "Turns out that Emma wasn't the only Dark One, she made Killian one in Camelot, which we only remembered when we got our memories back, by the way, and a few days ago the curse ended. Emma escaped without a scrape but Killian…I don't know. I wasn't there, everything I heard came from Henry, but Killian didn't make it."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

She shook her head. Killian had been…an acquaintance, perhaps. At best. They'd never exactly been friends and their meetings had become more of an effort in tolerance, though they had gained their trust in the end. She was sad that he was gone, but she wasn't crushed the way that she'd been when Neal died. "I'll pass on your condolences."

"Why is Robin not here to accept them personally?"

"Ah…because he's not in Storybrooke at the moment." And now for the bad news.

"Another adventure."

Another adventure? Was that really what this was? "I'm not sure I'd call it that. Emma was determined to get Killian back, so she went to get him in the Underworld."

"Which means half the town is gone again, including her majesty and-"

"And about a half dozen other people we love."

"So what else is new? Besides the fact that you aren't with them this time."

She shook her head. "It's complicated." And if she had known that it was going to be longer than the day that Rumple had said she would have gone with them whether he liked it or not. But she'd trusted him to trust Emma and Mary Margaret and David. judgment his trust that was broken. Just theirs.

"Listen…Robin's daughter was born a few days ago-"

"Daughter? The witch was only supposed to be a few months pregnant!"

"Yeah…Emma sped up the pregnancy. The reasons why are long and also complicated but they don't really matter anymore. What is important is Roland and the baby."

"It's a girl?" John smiled with something like excitement.

She nodded and let herself beam as well. "Yeah it's a girl. Robin hasn't given her a name yet!"

"How can he? He doesn't know her well enough yet."

He doesn't know her, that same excuse that Roland had given her and Mother Superior. "Right…" She was beginning to think this was some kind of tradition she'd never heard of before. But odd as it was to her she had to remember that, like the way she'd come into this world, her name didn't matter, what was important was the safety and welfare of Roland and his sister. His sister, she was confident, was fine. And Roland looked happy out here in the woods with his friends, the people he'd known since he was small, but she had to be sure before she left him.

"Listen, a few days ago the kids were in a bit of danger from Zelena and some other dark forces. The danger has passed, the darkness is gone and Zelena was sent back to Oz, but that doesn't mean that there isn't danger lurking around every corner in Storybrooke."

"You want to know if Roland is safe with us? With his family?!"

"It's not personal," she excused at the accusation. "The kids have been staying with the nuns in the convent, that's where the baby is now, with little Neal. Roland isn't cut out for that life and they aren't prepared to deal with a child his age full time-"

"But we are," he quickly assured her. "The boy is one of us, he was born into this clan and we've cared for him all our lives, that won't change now. The girl is with fairies and that's fine, I trust your judgement, but there is no reason why we wouldn't stand by and keep him safe. We always have and we always will...for both of them."

She smiled and over his shoulder watched as one of the men hoisted Roland up onto his shoulders. Roland beamed and put his small hands over his forehead and turned to "steer" the man. Five minutes and she already knew this was the right place. This had been a good idea. "I believe you," she assured him as the man sat Roland down and they began to inspect the fire pit. It didn't mean she was ready to bring his daughter here, she still stood by that decision, but she was feeling confident this was right for Roland.

She probably should have left right then and there, but the fire pit had reminded her of another conversation she'd just had. "You know…he's the right age for school. Do you know if Robin enrolled him or..."

"That's not our way," John answered. "We'll teach him what he needs to know."

What he needed to know…what did Roland need to know? Right now he appeared to be learning how to make a fire and that was great for living in the woods! But he wouldn't always live in the woods, would he?"

"How much longer do you all intend to stay out here?" she questioned timidly looking over their tents and fire pit. It was cozy and she understood being attached to it and traditions…but they were here now. This wasn't the Enchanted Forest. There was more for Roland to learn than just how to make a fire. That might have been alright at home, but here? "I mean…it's going to get cold soon, colder than it is now, wouldn't you be better off in houses instead of tents?"

"We are men of the woods," John answered respectfully without a hint of insult. "I think it would kill our spirit to live anywhere else."

"Robin doesn't live in the woods, he lives with Regina."

"Robin has found love, he's found a new source for his spirit. We haven't found anything like that here."

He was confident, but there was an edge to his voice that made her sadden. She loved Storybrooke, truly she did. If someone had told her growing up that she would ever find home in a place like this she would have laughed. Of course, she'd liked the Enchanted Forest too, and it would always be "home" in some way, but given the two options she'd choose Storybrooke over and over. She liked the opportunities it awarded her. She couldn't imagine being here and not finding it as comfortable as it was. She couldn't imagine feeling like they would have, especially knowing their leader was comfortable somewhere they weren't. Their lifestyle was just odd for Storybrooke, maybe it was what was holding them back.

"Perhaps you need to think about a life that doesn't include Robin, think about what's best for each of you other than the group."

Little John chuckled, which naturally turned into a belly laugh. "We've never thought of ourselves as individuals, it's just not who we are. But we have been thinking lately, and talking. It hasn't escaped our notice how happy Robin is and how pointless our own lives feel…there's been talk about going back to the Enchanted Forest, resurrecting what we had of our life there. It was…better than this."

Going back to the Enchanted Forest. Going back…without Robin? Without Roland and their newest companion?! It was clear that the idea was not an easy one for John to handle and he wasn't the only one. She didn't even know if going back to the Enchanted Forest was possible, but it was devastating to think of them being gone completely, unable to fit in here and run off.

"Are you sure that's the right thing to do? You haven't even been here a year!"

"We're sure. Some things you just know and home…we know it's where the heart is. Even here in the woods we all know that our hearts are far away and that means home is too."

She felt a lump form in her throat and her head told her to say something but couldn't think of the words that she should try to convince him otherwise. Maybe there wasn't anything to be said. Between here and the Enchanted Forest she'd choose Storybrooke, they had the same right to choose the Enchanted Forest. It was a sad fact, but it was the truth.

"Well…at least wait, talk to Robin when he gets back. If going back is what you really want, then I'm sure he'd support you. And I'll do my best to find you a way back."

John beamed as he looked at her. "That's kind of you. Until then you have nothing to fear, Roland will remain here with us until his father returns. And you are welcome to visit as often as you like, he speaks highly of you."

That made her beam even through what she'd learned. "Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okey Dokey, sometimes I write safety chapters into my own fictions. That is, chapters that plant a seed in a character's mind that may or may not come to fruition so that if later in the series something should come out of it I can point to the safety chapter and say "Ha! No need for editing because I already planned for it. This scene initially existed only for the Merry Men. Because out of nowhere they just decided to go back to the Enchanted Forest, and I get it in the wake of Robin's death...not so random, but random enough that it bothered me and I wanted to prompt it. But later, around the time I was writing this chapter, a spoiler emerged. You might know the one. It was the script picture from 6x08. And though it was difficult to read, what people could make out was "Belle wants to leave with her unborn son" (or something along those lines). I decided to add just a little bit more into this chapter for this spoiler. Just in case. And now I'm glad I did. Plus, I have always said (and I'm still hoping I'll be right) that the end for Rumple and Belle will be them leaving Storybrooke together to really have a fresh start. Love it or hate it, just my theory.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	11. Lingering Questions

The events of the previous day stayed with her. Though it would appear the conversation she'd had with Little John was insignificant, to her it was influential. More influential than she knew.

When she got home that night, she made herself dinner then sat alone in their bedroom for hours until the sun set, just watching her rose gleam, strong and healthy, beneath the glass. Once more her mind carried her back to that conversation in the woods.

She'd thought of it. She wasn't sure when at that moment but she could remember thinking that maybe what would be best for them was to leave Storybrooke, to be away from the magic and the drama so that they could begin to reconstruct their relationship before they had to deal with anything again. She'd thought it. But she hadn't actually been serious about it. Or maybe she had…

It was nothing. A passing thought that was neither true nor false. But what John had said when she dropped Roland off wasn't a passing thought. It was serious. They were actually thinking of going back to the Enchanted Forest! They were planning on leaving Storybrooke forever, far different than the privacy of the extended vacation she'd initially imagined. The Merry Men...gone.

It was a shocking concept for her to grasp and she wasn't even really sure why. It wasn't as though she interacted with them day after day, or visited, or had close friends with them. Roland and Robin Hood, the two she'd come to love and respect most out of their crew, would remain here, with Regina, she was certain. Will was already gone, or at least all evidence pointed in that direction. She hadn't seen him in months, not since he'd indicated he was leaving Storybrooke. So what was it that bothered her about their possible departure? Maybe it was simply she'd gotten used to them being in the forest. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe it was something more. Maybe it was the fact that if Ruby could use a bean to go home, if Zelena could so easily be flung worlds away with a wand, and the Merry Men could return to the Enchanted Forest, what would happen to the rest of the town? She felt like this place was home. Would everyone else?

The next morning, as she drove to town, that question resounded in her mind with each face that she saw on the street. If it was possible to go home, or travel the realms, would the mailman stay? Would the couple down the street stay? The children that were playing on the sidewalk, how many of them would remain? And why was she focusing so hard on this when she clearly had other things to worry about?! The kids at the convent, she needed to take them more formula today. And Rumple…his rose was still strong and healthy when she'd left this morning, but she was growing desperate. She needed to know why he wasn't back, she needed to know why he wasn't back, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew answers like that would be difficult to come by. When she pulled into Granny's the only answer she really knew was within her grasp was just certainty that he wasn't back yet.

"Granny!" she called out, grabbing the old woman's attention. She was behind the counter, filling up coffees and juices. She was aware that it was busy, just like it always was first thing in the morning, but it didn't matter. This would only take a moment. "Granny, have you had any news?!"

Granny looked back at her with a face that was uncharacteristically sympathetic as she shook her head. "Nothing since they left, girl. Sorry."

Well, that was the certainty she craved, but it wasn't exactly the outcome she'd been hoping for days ago when he'd left. "Alright…thanks, Granny. If you hear anything, I'll be-"

"Right here eating breakfast for the next thirty minutes!" she insisted before she could excuse herself to the library.

She glared at the old woman. "Granny, I can't I've-"

"Got no husband to find, help at the library, and look as though you haven't eaten a good meal in a week. Mother Superior called, said you weren't taking care of yourself. Sit down. Have breakfast."

She sighed as she considered that. She did need to go to the library, but it wasn't immediate. "Fifteen minutes and I'll eat a bagel."

"Twenty-five minutes, and you'll have pancakes and eggs," she opened her mouth to argue, but her stomach let out a growl first that Granny could clearly hear over the hum of the talk in the diner. "I'll take that as a yes," she insisted writing it down on a pad. "Sit."

She knew better than to argue with Granny when she used that tone of voice. And she was hungry. A bagel would have been fine…but she had to admit that pancakes sounded better. When was the last time that she'd eaten?

"Bad day already, sister?"

She spun around at the sound of the familiar voice and smiled when she found Leroy sitting at the table just behind her. She hadn't noticed him when she came in, but he was looking perfectly comfortable with his jacket over the back of his chair and his coffee within reach. "Leroy," she smiled. "I'm so sorry, I didn't see you! Is anyone…"

"All yours," he answered when she motioned to the chair on the other side of the table. She carefully pulled her light jacket off and set it on the back of the chair. When she sat down, Leroy was suspiciously quiet, looking her over with curious eyes that she found more frequently on Granny or even Rapunzel lately. "So…" he muttered when she finally settled, looking at her over the coffee he was sipping. "What's got you looking so down in the dumps?"

She felt her smile begin to falter. Was she that obvious? "How can you tell?" she questioned as Granny hurried over to bring her a cup of tea.

"Well your eyes for one, but the way Granny fusses doesn't exactly help your case."

She sighed. "Rumple…he went with the others to the Underworld and left me behind. They should have been back by now, they were only supposed to be gone a day-"

"Since when does one of their adventures take a day?" Leroy commented, nearly the exact same words that Granny had said yesterday, and that she had said the day before that!

"It never does," she muttered discouraged. "Rumple's rose still works, I can tell he's alive, but I'd rather have him home. I'd rather have all of them home, of course, but…there's a lot of work to be done, between Rumple and I, you know."

"Yeah I know, along with the whole town." The comment didn't anger her exactly, but it didn't really make her rest well either. It was enough to take her back to the first few weeks after she'd come out of the asylum. Would their romantic life ever not be an interesting topic for the people of Storybrooke?! This was exactly why she'd had that thought the other day, this was why she wondered if they shouldn't just get away for a few days. And the rest of the town…

"Leroy…have you ever thought about…about leaving?"

"Leaving Granny's? Not brave enough for that, sister!"

"No, no, not that. I meant…I meant have you ever thought of leaving here, Storybrooke. Have you ever thought of going back to the Enchanted Forest or living in New York or…anywhere I suppose!"

Leroy shrugged. "Who hasn't? When the curse was first lifted I think that was what everyone was really waiting for, another purple cloud to take us all home and we could pick up right where we left off." Who hadn't thought of a return to the Enchanted Forest? She hadn't! Why had this never dawned on her before as it had on Leroy and the Merry Men and apparently half the town?!

"Do you still hope for that?" she asked cautiously. She felt stupid for asking, in the grand scheme of things it really hadn't been that long since the curse was lifted! It seemed like it had. But it wasn't. Could an opinion like that be changed after two years? Was there a point to her question?

Leroy shrugged. "I don't know. Actually going back to the Enchanted Forest after living here was sort of a wake-up call. And after missing the boat for the adventure, yet again, it's kind of got me thinking about what I define home as. I like the Enchanted Forest, but I like it here too. If given a choice to go back there by myself or stay here with friends and my brothers, I'd stay here."

She felt herself smirk at his answer. "Home is where the heart is…" she muttered off hand, that phrase that Little John had used yesterday.

"Yeah…" Leroy commented, not realizing that the phrase was rhetorical. "Why are you asking anyway? Missing home? Thinking about going back?"

She shook her head. "No…the opposite actually, but others…did you know the kids were staying up at the convent while everyone was away?"

"No."

"Neither did I, Mother Superior called me yesterday for help, and I found them all up there for safe keeping. The babies are fine but Roland needed a bit more space, so I took him back to the Merry men and spoke with Little John. They say they are thinking about going back."

"Can't say I'm surprised," Leroy answered. "They've never really tried to adjust to life in Storybrooke. It's just not for some people I guess. The people from Camelot are chomping at the bit to get home too."

The people from Camelot. Were they still here? She'd nearly forgotten in all of it that they hadn't been sent home, only Zelena. It seemed like all that was an eternity away, but the reality was that it was barely a week since she'd faced off with Merida. Merida…she'd wanted so much to get home to her brothers, the brothers that she'd worked to save. She wondered if she'd found them yet. Or if they were still in DunBroch, far away.

"How are they? The people from Camelot, I mean? Do they have everything they need out in the woods?" Who was caring for them now that David was gone?

"Everything and more," Leroy snapped back. "They're problematic is what they are."

"Problematic?"

"They're still cursed, Sister! Before she left, Mary Margaret asked me to keep an eye on Arthur in the jailhouse, but that's hard to do when they still think he's their perfect King."

"Cursed? But Emma's not the Dark One anymore, they should have their memories back!"

"Memories don't help when it wasn't Emma's curse that caused the problem!"

"The curse that…the dust!" she recalled suddenly. She'd nearly forgotten. No, that was a lie, she had forgotten! Emma's curse brought the people from Camelot here, but they were in trouble before that, the Sands of Avalon, the same dust that had cursed Mary Margaret and David, the same dust that they'd needed Merlin for in order to reverse the curse!

"Yeah…so far they're only causing minor problems, but it's not helpful that they think we've taken their King hostage. Merida is there now, we take alternate shifts, just like Mary Margaret told us to. She's better in the night, when we're all asleep and they think it's safe to break in, not much gets past her. I take the days along with the other dwarves."

She smirked at that thought. Merida sitting in the jail with her bow and arrow, probably all too happily taunting King Arthur. She probably was having fun. But her brothers…

"Hey, do you know if she-"

"Orders up! Pancakes, eggs, and bacon, and don't forget the syrup!" Granny said suddenly bustling over to them. She sat back so she could set the food down and smiled as she looked over her plate. "You don't leave this diner until that plate is clean!" Granny threatened before walking away. Stay in Storybrooke or leave Storybrooke, it was a matter unresolved. But for the moment, with a good meal in front of her, it could stay unresolved for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This poor filler chapter has so many purposes it's hard to count them all. It's continuing and concluding what was talked about in the previous chapter, it's all too easily showing her with Grumpy, just like we all saw in 5x14 I believe, and it's introducing what will essentially be the major plot point for the time that Belle is in Storybrooke. Come on now, you didn't think that I forgot about the other curse on Camelot the way that TPTB did, did you?! Since when has that ever been my style?! Just call me Sara West: cleaning up OUAT messes you forgot were there since 2013!
> 
> Thank you to Deweymay for her comments on the last chapter! I'm enjoying your thoughts on all of them! And when it comes to this chapter, I do hope you'll like the Belle/Grumpy interaction. It was definitely a throwback to the good ole days of Rumbelle! Will we ever get there again? No idea, my basic philosophy of all this is "don't wish, don't start, wishing only wounds the heart!" And now get ready because I have a feeling these next couple of chapters...probably won't be well received. Peace and Happy Reading!


	12. Between Parents and Children

With breakfast making her waistband uncomfortably tight, she managed to hobble off to work at the library. What she nearly didn't manage was to stop in and check on the shop. The itch to open it up for the day was so strong…

But in the end, she resisted and walked on toward the library without deviation. Tomorrow. If he wasn't back by this time tomorrow, then she'd open it up for just long enough to dust, and that would be it! They had to have their own lives here in town. She had to let the pawnshop be his domain once more.

Upon entry of the library, she found Rapunzel and Flynn standing at the circulation desk. "Morning," she exclaimed as they looked her over.

"Aaaaand that's my cue," Flynn breathed. He turned and kissed Rapunzel full on the mouth for a moment, then assured her he'd be there when she got back, and instead of leaving disappeared into the halls of the library. The move astounded and saddened her at the same time. She was coming to like Flynn, the little that she saw of him at least. The problem was that every time she arrived, he almost always took off quickly.

"He doesn't like me, does he?"

"What?! Oh! No, no! Of course, he likes you! Oh my goodness you thought that…no! Trust me! He just knows we have an errand to run so he's going to watch some things for me," Rapunzel commented moving around the circulation desk. "Don't get too comfortable! We are heading out!" she insisted before she could get her coat off.

"Where?" she asked as the woman quickly opened the door and urged her to follow after her. What kind of errand did they have to run for the library?! She'd never gone anywhere for the Library when it had just been her!

"Come with me, and I will show you the way."

Confused as ever, but confident that Rapunzel had never led her into trouble before she followed after her. Rapunzel moved swiftly, her arms wrapped around herself, walking as though she didn't want her to catch up. It wasn't until they turned down a particular street that she smelled flowers and realized what was going on. They were nearly in front of Game of Thornes Flower Shop.

"Rapunzel, no!" she insisted. "I-I can't I'm-"

"Yes, yes you can!" Rapunzel insisted turning around and grabbing her hand. "Belle, it's time! You've been home for days now, and your father probably thinks you are in Paris! He deserves to know! You wouldn't want him to wander into Granny's and find you were home and hadn't told him, would you?!"

"No, but…I…" she was speechless as she stared up into the storefront. It seemed so much bigger than it ever had. Of course she was planning on telling her father she was home...she just wasn't planning it.

"Belle, what's wrong?" Rapunzel questioned as the grip on her hand softened to comfort and support. "He's your father, why are you so afraid to tell him you're home?"

She knew why she was afraid to tell him. But that was a question far too deep to answer on the street like this, with people around, with her father inside, waiting, clueless….

"My father and I haven't always seen eye to eye about how I should live my life," she hissed.

"Everyone fights with their parents at some point or other. My parents aren't sure they like Flynn!"

"Yes, but not everyone's father sends tries to erase their memories!"

That managed to get Rapunzel to close her mouth in shock and surprise for a moment. "I didn't know that," she whispered. No, of course, she didn't know that. No one really knew that except Rumple and David and Ruby. And her father of course. "When did that happen?" she questioned gently.

"Just after the curse broke, years ago."

Rapunzel didn't exactly drop her sympathy, but she did suddenly look a whole lot more comfortable than she did a few moments ago. "Look," she whispered stepping closer to her and tightening her grip on her hand, "if you want to leave, if you don't want to do this I get it, we'll leave right now. But if you want to go in and tell your father that you're back and giving this another try, then I'll stay right there with you. I'll make sure nothing happens to you! If it makes you feel safer, I'll go back to the library and get Flynn and you'll have your own personal army there! I just thought this was better for your relationship than having him find out from somewhere else."

Their relationship…the relationship that was already strained as it was after years of choices her father didn't agree with?! Part of her, probably the part that belonged more to Lacey than to her, told her that she didn't owe her father anything. But the sensible part of her that had wanted to come tell her father she was engaged in the first place rebelled. They'd been working on their relationship. Yes, it was strained, but they'd been doing well with the tension. Leaving her father to discover that she was still in town with Rumpelstiltskin and avoiding him would not help the progress that they'd made.

She glanced over Rapunzel's shoulder at the door to Game of Thrones, took a breath, and gripped her hand back. No, she didn't think her father would ever attempt to do anything like what he'd done before again, certainly not with Rapunzel there, but it didn't get rid of her nerves. "Let's go," she muttered pulling her along to the store.

The smell of flowers was everywhere, just as it always was when she entered the shop, but her father, predictable as ever, was nowhere in sight. The back of the store, he was always back there whenever she came to-

"Belle!" he breathed out in surprise as he stepped out of the back room and laid eyes on her. She hadn't known how much it meant to her to see her father after the last few days until he stepped out and she felt herself step forward so that she could hug him. "Oh, my girl!" he cried nearly lifting her off the floor. "I heard the rumors and when you didn't call-"

"I'm fine, Papa!" she assured him. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Are you?" he questioned as he pulled away from her. "What are you doing back here? I thought you were leaving town!"

"I was but-"

She stopped when she realized her father was no longer looking at her but over her shoulder. She glanced back and saw Rapunzel staring at them.

"Oh! Sorry, don't mind me, I'm just…looking for flowers for the library," she smiled nervously pointing to some flowers by the window. She stepped closer and smelled them awkwardly before nodding. "Yep, just the thing to...you know…cover the smell…of…books and dust and…things. I'm going to look over there," she excused moving to the other side of the room.

She smirked before turning back to her father. Rapunzel could be absolutely amazing sometimes. "I was going to leave," she explained to her father, "but when I went over the town line, I got my memories from Camelot back, and I realized that what I wanted was-"

"You're going back to him, aren't you?!" he demanded quickly.

She swallowed the nervous knot in her throat and nodded. "Yes, I decided-"

"Oh, Belle!" he cried turning away from her.

"I decided I need to give him another chance as he is now, human, without his magic."

"How long must this go on, Belle?!" her father demanded turning back to her. "How many chances can you give such a person."

"I can give as many as I want to!" she argued. "My choices are my own, Papa, they're not your problem."

"But you are my girl."

"I've told you before, I'm not a child anymore!"

"It doesn't matter!" he yelled. "It will never matter, not to me!"

"Papa-"

"You don't know, Belle," he responded. "You have never been a parent before, you have no idea what it is like! It's not as simple as letting you do whatever you decided, it will always affect me, whether you want it to or not!"

She didn't have a response for that declaration. "Papa…"

"No, no, Belle just…just listen," he stepped forward again, his voice finally lowering as he took her hand. "Do you remember…do you remember when you were seven or eight, and you wanted to take your horse out to watch the shooting stars in the meadow."

She felt her stomach tighten and flip over at the memory. It wasn't pleasant. "I remember."

"I told you that you couldn't go, that it was too cold and too dark…"

"So did mother," she inserted, knowing he didn't have that memory, not anymore. "She told me to go to bed and stay warm."

"And do you remember what happened the next morning, because I do. I remember the knock on the door when the guards told me you were missing, the hours we spent searching for you, I remember the feeling of finding your horse in the middle of nowhere without you mounted upon it, and I remember the color of your skin, how cold it was when we found you lying on the ground wrapped in your cloak. And when you wouldn't wake…"

Her father choked on his words, and she felt tears gather in her own eyes. She remembered that day well. She'd overheard some women in the castle talking about going out to see she shooting stars that night, they only came once every ten years. She'd wanted so desperately to go, but her parents had told her it was too cold to be out so late. She hadn't believed them. She'd been stubborn, and after her nurse had left her to sleep, she'd climbed out of bed, snuck down to the stables, prepared her horse on her own and rode out to a field that she knew where she could watch the stars. They were dazzling, but it was just as cold, if not colder than her parents had warned her it would be. She remembered being tired, the way her fingers started to ache, and when she called for her horse and he didn't come. She remembered curling up in her heavy cloak in an effort to keep warm. She also remembered the worried look on her mother's face the moment that she woke up in her bed, covered in more thick blankets than she even knew she'd had, and a fire blazing in the hearth. She'd nearly died that day. Of course, the true meaning of that had been lost on her at such an early age. The memory was clear but just one of many of her childhood. She had no idea how much that day had meant to her father until just now.

"Papa…Papa that was years ago, when I was a child. You didn't do anything wrong."

"But it feels as though I did each and every time," he insisted gently. "When you're a parent you do anything for your children, you do what you believe is best, and suffer with them. Every bad choice reverberates and I can't help but think if I'd been a better father, if I'd taught you more, or less-"

"Papa my choices aren't your fault, they're just choices. It was my choice to go to the field that night and it's my choice to stay with Rumple now."

"But it still feels like you're my responsibility. It doesn't matter your age, you will always be my responsibility. And I see you now, the choices you are making, and I see you in your bed once more, nearly frozen to death, I see you after the ogre attack, I see you walking into fire, and Belle, my instinct is to reach out and shield you, no matter the consequences to me. When you have a child, you do what it takes to protect them, even if it means sacrificing yourself and the things you believe along the way."

He wasn't crying. She was, but he wasn't. But his words were strained, and she had a feeling that if Rapunzel wasn't there he might have been in tears. They were at a crossroads. She was going to do what she was going to do, she was going to make the choices that she was going to make, and he was going to try and protect her. She was a woman and a wife and a friend, but she was also a daughter, and he was right; she wasn't a parent, she couldn't relate to what he was feeling.

It was odd that he and Rumpelstiltskin didn't get along. They had so much in common.

"Father…Papa, we need to get passed this. I know you love me, I know you want to protect me, but we need to find a place that we can make this work, where I can be free to make my mistakes and my triumphs and know that you'll be there to celebrate with me or pick up the pieces without feeling guilty."

"I'll always be here for you Belle, but what you say is not as easy as you make it sound."

Then they were at an impasse. And there was nothing to be done until they figured out what to do.

"Well…I came here to tell you I was home. I've done that now, so…"

"So go," he insisted, his face stern. "No matter what happens, I'm here when you need me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha! I said we'd be going to an unpopular chapter and ya'll thought we were going to the Underworld finally. Nope, not yet. We have a few more days before the underworld. Just a Moe chapter. Yeah, I'm not happy with this chapter. It's not the content. I knew that I needed something like this chapter, between Belle and her father. I wanted it to serve the purpose of kind of finally putting them in the middle. Here they are not really on again but they are not really off again. They are kind of both at a point of "well let's see what happens this time." I wanted to use this chapter to help explain why Maurice does what Maurice does when Rumple brings Box!Belle back. I gotta tell ya, he gets a bad rap but I feel for the guy. Maybe it's just because I've been watching the way my younger brothers choices still effect my father, even though we're of age. He struggles with letting him do certain things too. BUT, aside from that, I also wanted this chapter to serve one additional purpose later on, for Belle. Can you guess where it'll come into play? But yeah, like I said, I just wasn't thrilled with how it came out. The writing seemed a little bit bland to me but I couldn't figure how to fix that. It just is what it is.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	13. Another Day, Another Curse

She and Rapunzel walked away from her father's shop with fresh flowers for the library and uncertainty. She was uncertain about the relationship she had with her father, Rapunzel, she could tell, was uncertain about what she'd made her do that morning. She was questioning whether or not it was for the better, or if she should have let sleeping dogs lie, but the truth was she didn't know if it was for the better or not and she didn't want her friend to feel bad about it either.

"Alright," she sighed when they got to the library, "I've got to get some more formula to the babies and help Mother Superior. I'll be back later for lunch."

Rapunzel nodded. "Are you sure you're good to-"

"Yeah," she responded quickly and probably a little too upbeat to be convincing. "I've actually been looking forward to it. See you in a couple of hours?"

"Sure, lunch is on me today."

The convent was nice. It was a good escape and she hadn't realized just how much the babies fed until she arrived and found the nuns looking relieved once more, though in a different way that they had yesterday. She thought she'd dropped off enough formula to last the entire day, but when she arrived today she found both bottles empty. She had enough for today, tomorrow she'd wash out the bottles and buy a few new ones so that she could bring a stash for them. Other than that, things at the convent were quiet and peaceful. Despite the crying children they seemed relieved to be down to a manageable number of children and to have a couple of hours off here and there. She replaced the nuns that she'd found in the nursery, and read a book of her own in the corner while the babies slept, but she couldn't help but think about her father again.

So things with her father were complicated again. But when had they ever not been complicated? At least this time she felt somewhat confident that he wouldn't turn her away no matter how this ended. He disagreed with it, but he wasn't going to fight her on it. That was something at least. She wished, more than anything, that she could see a more positive way forward, but she was tired of pushing the subject. For now she was content to let the issue rest and see where time took them.

The babies woke up together as if on cue. She nearly jumped at the sudden noise invading the quiet. Mother Superior turned up at the sounds, and they both sat together in rocking chairs feeding the kid. Mother Superior fed Neal, at her urging, giving him another face to associate with good things, she was happy to see a difference already between the Mother Superior she'd encountered when she'd first been called up here to now. She was capable of taking care of babies, better than she had assumed yesterday, and she was surprised just how much of a difference the proper place for Roland had made. Mother Superior smiled and cooed at the kids, talking to them in that same kind of baby talk she did and instantly she could feel the tension between the nuns and the tiny humans was gone.

As Mother Superior bonded with Neal, she fed the girl, and wished the entire time that there was something she could call her besides "sweetheart" and "little girl". Mother Superior confessed that she and the others felt the same, but alas, there was nothing to be done. They could not name the girl for her father! That was true. She knew it was, no matter how much she wanted to do something about it.

"Do you think they miss their parents?" she asked as she looked down at the little girl. It had suddenly dawned on her that she'd probably known this nursery far more now than she knew her father. Did a child this young understand the concept of parents, of safety and danger?

"With Neal, I'm certain he does. Simply because he cries when he's around us but not when he is around you. I think he knows what and who home is. But when it comes to her…I truly don't know. She was born and brought here so fast she hasn't really had time to learn who her family is like Neal has."

"It's been almost three days, I thought I'd hear something from them by now!"

"They were in Neverland longer than three days before you heard anything."

"When they went to Neverland I had no assurance of when they were returning. It was open ended. This time-"

A boom from the other side of the nursery turned her attention to a door slamming open. Rapunzel walked inside followed quickly by a familiar face. Red hair, bluish green dress, and a bow and arrow in her hand.

"Merida!" she breathed in astonishment. It was the first time she'd seen the woman since she'd left her in Regina's house to watch Emma, so much had happened since then and now this was also the first time she was seeing her since her memories had been returned. Now she wasn't just some poor soul that she was set on helping, she was a friend. But the babies didn't know that. They both broke into tears and shrieks once more at the sight of the strangers and all the noises they brought with them.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Rapunzel burst out taking a step closer at the same time Merida stepped away as though she was holding human waste instead of a baby. She waved Rapunzel off.

"I wouldn't," she insisted holding Robin's daughter closer to her chest and shielding her from the women. "Neal only cries around strangers and she…well…sometimes there is no getting her to stop."

Rapunzel nodded and stepped back with her hands up like she was being held at gunpoint. It was almost humorous, if only because it reminded her of the first time that she'd watched Neal and felt more scared of him than excited.

The women listened, waiting outside at Mother Superior's insistence, despite Merida's huffing, as they calmed the children. She worried of course, but Rapunzel assured her that it was something that could wait a couple of minutes until the children were calm, also despite Merida's clear objection. Neal dropped off first and was easily placed in his crib, afterward she handed Robin's daughter to Mother Superior and went outside to meet them.

"Sorry," she breathed. "Calming them down is easier than talking over their tears."

Rapunzel shook her head. "If it was a big emergency we would have told you it couldn't wait."

" _Big_ being the key difference there!" Merida inserted quickly.

She looked between the two of them. The difference between a big emergency and a normal emergency? Somehow that didn't exactly calm her down.

"What's going on? What's the emergency?"

"The dwarves!"

"Leroy," Rapunzel answered, interrupting Merida. "There was an accident when he went to guard the jail this morning."

"This morning? I had breakfast with him at Granny's this morning!"

Rapunzel nodded, "He must have picked up his shift afterwards. Merida watched Arthur all night, Leroy takes mornings, and it sounds like Happy and Doc have been taking evenings."

"But something went wrong?"

"Leroy is okay," Rapunzel assured her quickly. "It's just a bump on the head he's getting patched up in the hospital now-"

"What happened?!" she insisted with frustration. She'd finally found something that she liked about working with the others. Though there was many of them and information got spread out when they told a story they usually at least started at the beginning instead of just giving bits and pieces.

Rapunzel sighed. "Leroy went to the jail to watch over Arthur, but when Walter went to bring him lunch he found Leroy unconscious on the floor and Arthur gone."

"Arthur's on the loose?!"

"No' anymore thank ya!" Merida rejected. "Some King…not much for hidin'!"

Rapunzel held her hand up, stopping Merida's rambling. "Leroy said that two of the people from Camelot stormed in and knocked him out. Security camera's showed them freeing Arthur. We got Merida-"

"Best tracker in all of Dunbroch!"

"And she found him and returned him to the jailhouse, but Belle…we can't keep doing this. The Camelotians-"

"Leroy told me this morning they were becoming a problem."

"Yeah, and Leroy thought that they were escalating but we didn't pay enough attention to it. Look what happened!"

What happened. Suddenly she remembered, it wasn't just Arthur that was out of the jail that she should be worried about. "Well…is Leroy alright?!"

"Now, yes, Archie is at the jail watching over Arthur with a couple of other dwarves, extra guards, but we can't keep doing this. The Camelotians will just continue to escalate until they free Arthur for good! This time it was just a bump on the head, but next time it could be something worse."

"What do you need me to do?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "Convince everyone from Camelot that Arthur really does belong in jail," she stated as though it was obvious.

Belle only shook her head. "That won't work, they're under a curse of some kind, one set down by Arthur, even with their memories back that won't undo what was done to them."

"Well, we know tha!" Merida exclaimed. "That's why we came to see you instead of sending th' cricket out to talk 'em down."

"Me?!"

"Do you think you could break this curse?" Rapunzel finally questioned for Merida.

"Break the curse?!"

"With magic! It's the only logical thing to do! Arthur is in prison for good reason, but no one from Camelot believes us because they all believe Arthur so the only natural way to get them to see reason is to uncloud their judgement and make them see it. Can you break this curse?"

"Breaking a curse isn't simple," she retorted. "I've never done it before!"

"But Granny says that you've planned it before. The Spell of Shattered Sight?"

She opened her mouth to refute that answer but couldn't. She had planned to break the Spell of Shattered Sight. That was only months ago and yet it felt like it was years. But…the Spell of Shattered Sight was not what was affecting the people of Camelot! And it had taken her days to research that curse and find its counter. There was no assurance she could do it with this curse. "Not all curses are the same," she pointed out. "It could take me weeks to figure out how to break it and even then this isn't lifting a curse on a single individual, there must be a hundred people here from Camelot."

"Eighty-six actually," Rapunzel inserted. "Eighty-seven if you count Arthur into that number."

"Eighty-eight if ya coun' me, but I'm not from Camelot now am I?!" She gawked at them. Only Eighty-seven? In an entire kingdom?! "Camelot was dyin' long before you lot landed in it's woods," Merida pointed out.

"But it's castle…" Suddenly it dawned on her that the castle was all she'd ever really seen. The lands were big, but the people were few. She supposed that made sense. If Merida was right and it had begun it's slow painful walk to the gallows before they arrived, then maybe that explained why Arthur needed the curse to begin with. She had felt magic saturating the land and the castle and Merlin had confirmed what she'd felt. It was all an illusion, one created by Arthur, for Arthur. It was tragic in the end. But still….

"Look, I can search, but eighty-seven people, eighty-seven unwilling people is a lot to prepare for!"

"The Fairies will help." She turned around to find Mother Superior leaving the nursery and closing the door quietly behind her. "We were prepared to help with the Spell of Shattered Sight and we can do it again, you'll have our support as well as our magic behind you."

"Support and magic only get me so far," she argued. "I need answers."

"And so you shall find them," Mother Superior insisted. "You've solved more mysteries and curses than anyone else in this town Belle. If anyone can solve this, you can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we've reached one of my favorite parts of this fiction. I've been saying since the beginning that I was going to give Belle something more to do than feed babies during her stay in Storybrooke and this little mini-plot is how we're going to do it. I hope that you'll enjoy where this goes, even if it's for a short time.
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, for your comments on the last chapter. I don't think it comes as a shock to many that I've been struggling with writing and posting Moments during this fiction, so every little bit of positive energy has helped in some way! Thank you for that! Peace and Happy Reading!


	14. The Master at Work

Ominous as the sky was, she and Rapunzel when back to the library with Mother's promise that she and the other fairies would help her break the curse if she could find a way. Of course, she thought to ask her if they had any idea how to break it without the research, but she regretfully told them that she didn't, but their resources were available if she needed them. She didn't. Or at least she didn't need them yet. As far as she was concerned the resources at the convent were heavy material and only to be used when all other options ran dry. For now, all she needed were the books back in the library.

"Looks like a storm is on the way," Rapunzel commented as they made their way into the library.

"Naturally, let's just hope it doesn't interfere with what we need to do. Magic and weather don't always go well together."

"Well? You're the expert, how do we do this?" Rapunzel asked as she began to pull various books out of the back room and set them on the tables.

"I'm not the only one that knows how to do this, you and Flynn did it once, right? Isn't it how you met?" she questioned sorting the books and finally sitting down to read.

"Not really. Flynn already knew the book he needed; I was just along for the ride. There was no real research involved."

"Well, if things go well there won't be much research involved in this either."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed as she thought back to weeks ago, the time that they'd all arrived in Granny's diner after just barely managing to escape King Arthur's court. Merlin had used a spell to transfer them to a different place and time…it was only then that he pulled Mary Margaret and David from his pocket and explained what had happened. "When we were in Camelot David and Mary Margaret were affected by the same spell the rest of Camelot is under now," she explained to a shocked looking Rapunzel across the table. "We were confused and never would have figured out what it was exactly if not for Merlin. He's the one who broke the spell."

Quickly she found the book that she needed most and began to turn the pages quickly. Research was a lot more fun when she knew exactly what she was looking for.

"Wow!" Rapunzel breathed, oblivious. "You never told me they were infected!"

"It was irrelevant until this moment, to be honest I completely forgot about it until today." There! Her heart skipped a beat as she located the passage, right where she expected it would be. With a beaming smile, she rose, walked around the table, and set the book before Rapunzel, pointing at the section she needed most.

"The Legendary Sands of Avalon," Rapunzel read.

Belle nodded. "That's what Merlin called the enchantment they were under. He said they came from the Sands of the Isle of Avalon. What does the book say?" she questioned motioning back to the book before her.

Rapunzel sighed and searched over the page before reading out loud: "There are few mysteries over the years that have teased and taunted like the Isle of Avalon. Said to be found only by Sailors in desperate need, the Isle of Avalon is supposedly home to beautiful women and natural sights, it is rumored gods have handcrafted. However, it is not the sights, but rather the goods of the island that has caught the attention of men and women alike for centuries. The legendary Sands of Avalon are perhaps the most well known and most coveted.

"Believed to be a form of rare natural magic, the Sands of Avalon allow that which is broken to appear whole again. At first glance, such magic might seem like it is a blessing. Before the Great Flood, there was very little of the sand available, those who possessed it used it for simple purposes, to fix appearances, to heal small fractures on priceless heirlooms, and restore once lost relationships. However, in the aftermath of the Great Flood, a single pirate ship docked and shared an unlikely tale. Though they'd been caught in the storm and feared death they were found themselves stranded instead on the Isle of Avalon. Once they were able to travel, they filled three large barrels with the coveted sands.

"The sands were split up for profit and found their way into the hands of looters, scoundrels, and thieves. In their hands, the blessing of the sands of Avalon became a curse. These unfailing villains used the sands in disgraceful ways. They used it to appear rich, to enhance the appearance of men and women as they saw fit, to make friends, families, and even entire villages complacent in their wicked plans, and unfairly win the praise of others so they'd be renowned as heroes.

"With no known way to reverse the effects of the sands, only death freed the citizens from the delusions they brought about. The only note of hope in this tale can be found in the magnificent use of so much sand within a generation. The sands of Avalon are not eternal. Though a small pinch of dust can affect a dozen people, once it is gone, it is gone. Of the three barrels the pirates brought back with them, it is estimated that only a fourth of one barrel may be left in the world today for trade. No one has spoken of a trip to the elusive Avalon since."

There was a piercing silence as the two women took in the finality and disappointment that came with those words. It wasn't good news despite the fact that she'd hoped for it.

"How old is this book?" Rapunzel asked softly.

She looked the book over, wanting desperately to grasp onto the small hope Rapunzel had found, but the near white pages, crisp black ink, and gently worn cover denied her that hope. "Recent," she answered sadly before going back over to her seat and sitting down in a huff. Just once she would have liked for this to have been easy! To not have to research, to just turn a page, find an incantation, or an easy potion, and that would be it! Apparently, this wasn't that time. _"…No known way to reverse the effects of the sands…"_

This wasn't going to be easy.

"So what do we do now?" Rapunzel questioned after a few moments. "Do we search for another text or…"

"No," she shook her head. "Now we follow leads and do the impossible. Now we figure out how to undo what cannot be undone."

"How?"

"We follow leads and come up with our own ways. We find the loophole." She thought back to the passage Rapunzel had read and tried to pick apart the text. There was one clue… "That said that the sands were something called 'natural magic'?"

"Um…yeah. 'Believed to be a form of rare natural magic.' Does that mean something?"

"It might," she answered, getting up and returning to the bookshelves. She'd heard of natural magic but never paid attention to it because nearly all the magic that she dealt with was channeled by a caster. Obviously, the sands had a caster, Arthur, but this wasn't something he'd arranged or created it was something brought to him and innately magical. She pulled a couple of books from the shelves and handed one to Rapunzel.

"They're thin."

"They're about natural magic, obviously it's not as well-known as practice of magic."

"Is that good or bad?"

She sat down with her own book and sighed. There was no good answer to that. "It means if we're going to break this then every little detail could be important. You read your book, I'll read mine, let me know if you find anything."

She wouldn't say it out loud, but she suspected she wouldn't find much. Though she'd told Rapunzel to focus on the details, she knew it would be difficult because she didn't have the innate knowledge of magic that she had. She knew what she was looking for, things that commonly reversed spells, but there was very little to find even in her own book. Short as it was it only took a couple of hours to get through it. What had she learned? Natural magic was difficult to undo. It was unbiased, could be deadly and helpful, and it was exceedingly difficult to reverse simply because there was no rhyme or reason behind natural magic, it simply was. True natural magic had no explanation. There were many theories as to why or how the magic was infused into certain objects within nature, but natural magic didn't have curses or enchantments placed on them, it was literally a fluke of…well…nature! It couldn't be undone by blood. It couldn't be undone by emotion because there was no emotion attached to it. In the Enchanted Forest, the rule was that a spell of passion could only be countered by it's contrary, but natural magic had no contrary. It had no passion.

But it did have one weakness: natural magic.

Natural magic couldn't undo itself but it could be used to cancel itself out.

"So…we need something that would make something appear broken in order to stop something that makes something appear whole," Rapunzel worked out hours later as she paced back and forth trying to get her mind to work.

"Essentially. And it has to be natural magic. Something natural that makes something appear broken."

Rapunzel shook her head. "That seems too specific to exist." And there was the problem. "There must be another way," she reasoned. "Mary Margaret and David were under the curse but they aren't anymore. How did Merlin reverse it?"

"He knew a spell that worked," she recalled sadly. If only it was that easy.

"So a spell _could_ work?"

"If we knew which one to use, but Merlin was old, and the fairies didn't even know what to do."

"And now Merlin is dead."

"And now Merlin is dead," she repeated. Which was a shame because the answer seemed clear if not for that. "It's possible I could have the fairies make a cure, like they did for the spell of shattered sight, but I don't have any of the original curse and I don't know if they are strong enough. If I had some of Merlin's magic that might be enough to influence the magic and reverse it-"

"But we don't have any of that either."

"No, I don't even know what happened to his body. As far as I know, all that is left of Merlin is…"

Her eyes widened as she remembered Merlin, the last moments that she'd had with him. "Infused magic," she breathed, remembering something she'd just read. Suddenly pieces were beginning to fall into place. Something Merlin himself had seen was falling into place!

"Infused magic?"

"Infused magic!" she exclaimed diving back toward the book she'd just completed. "It's one of the theories for how natural magic comes about…here! Right here! 'A third theory for natural magic is that that an object is unconsciously infused with magic. From that moment on it is primed and ready to absorb the abilities of any spell that comes into contact with it."

"That sounds like a lot of variables."

She nodded, it did sound like a lot of variables, but it also sounded like it was plausible when the man pulling the strings could see into the future. "We need to go to Granny's!" she exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ::Jumps up and down:: No matter how I feel about Once Upon a Time or Rumbelle I cannot deny that right now it is chapters like this that keep me going. I LOVE writing Research!Belle! And I love this chapter even more because I have had this chapter as well as the next one set up since Moments Taken! Does anyone remember a certain point in Moments Taken when I said "remember that, it's important later"? Well, later is now!
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, for your unending loyalty and the comments you have left me! I really do appreciate your kindness and encouragement and I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to hearing from you on this chapter and the next! I'm looking forward to every word! Peace and Happy Reading!


	15. Elements that Fall Magically Into Place

Merlin was a smart man. And the fact that he was able to see into the future didn't hurt his cause. Just before he'd died he'd done what she considered one of the oddest things she'd ever witnessed. He'd handed her a drawstring pouch with a flower inside of it, Middlemist. He'd told her, just before he said good-bye, that it was infused with is magic, preventing it from withering and dying. It was just as eternal as he was. And he'd given it to her to keep safe, stating only that he had a feeling it would "come in handy" one day. And so it would. After reading the passages about Natural Magic and replaying her final farewell with Merlin over and over in her head she came to the conclusion that the flower was the key to everything. So long as they could find it.

She'd promised Merlin that she'd keep it safe, but at the moment she couldn't be a hundred percent sure that she knew where it was! She'd forgotten about it until this moment, but in her own defense, that was because someone had erased her memories and reset everything in the diner, at least everything that they'd known about in the diner.

"Granny, I need the key to the room upstairs! The one that went with us to Camelot!" she demanded the moment that she got to the diner.

"They're where they always are, but I think Cecil is home!" she called as she grabbed Rapunzel's hand and pulled her into the hallway toward the bed and breakfast.

"Belle! I'm confused! What is going on?!"

"Before he died," she explained grabbing the right key from its hook and going upstairs. "Merlin gave me this flower, a Middlemist, he told me that I'd need it one day. I didn't remember because Emma erased our memories, but the flower hasn't turned up yet with the rest of the stuff from Camelot because Emma didn't know it was there which means that it might be in the same place that I put it just before-"

"Whoa!"

"Oh my God!"

She quickly closed the door that she'd just unlocked and shielded her eyes from the sight of the two high schoolers that were laying out on the bed.

"I guess that would be Cecil," Rapunzel breathed clutching her chest.

Cecil. Yes, it had taken her all of five seconds to forget Granny's warning that one of the lost boys was home. However, she doubted that Granny was aware of…that! "Sorry!" she yelled through the door.

"Don't you ever knock!" the boy's voice called back.

"Ever think to lock the door?!" Rapunzel yelled back.

"Sorry," she yelled again, holding the key up so Rapunzel could see they had locked it. "We just need something."

"Manners!"

"Says a boy who lived in the woods on pine nuts a year ago!" Rapunzel retaliated. She stared open mouthed at the girl. "What?" she questioned at her look of shock. "I had a brother! You learn to scream when you have a brother!" She'd never heard her even raise her voice! She honestly didn't know that she was capable of bickering like that. Even if she did have a brother. "Okay," Rapunzel finally sighed leaning against the wall on the other side of the hall, "so this flower, Merlin gave it to you and it's important now because…"

"He told me that it was infused with magic," she explained. "That makes it a prime candidate to create natural magic with."

"Unnaturally."

"Right."

"Of course…well, then," Rapunzel moved around her and hammered on the door. "Cover what needs covered!" she screamed, then, only a second later, she burst into the unlocked room and looked around everywhere but the two kids on the bed fumbling for sheets and clothes. She shielded her eyes, at least trying to be respectful, and stepped in after her. "Where did you put it?" Rapunzel asked. She took a deep breath, looked around the room at the disarray, wondered how busy Granny must have been downstairs to ignore a situation like this, then spotted the desk and remembered.

"There!" she insisted stepping up to it, opening the drawer, and-

"Yes!"

"Is that it?!" Rapunzel asked looking at the drawstring bag in her hand. She opened the pouch up and glanced inside. There inside was a white flower, looking as perfect and beautiful as though it hadn't aged an hour. Just as Merlin had told her.

"That's it," she whispered with complete confidence.

Rapunzel's jaw dropped before she broke out into a wide smile. "So that's it! We got it, we can break the spell."

She nodded. "Yes! Yes we can all we need to do is get this to the fairies and…"

She stopped before she could go any further. She'd missed a step. A big step.

"And…" Rapunzel prompted.

"The fairies can't cast the spell we need," she realized.

"Wait, why? I thought they could make a cure of some kind?!"

"They can but only after the Middlemist has the magic it needs inside of it. Fairies are made of light magic, strong light magic. The flower needs to have a spell cast over it to make what is whole seem broken in order to cancel out the sands power properly. I don't know what kind of magic that is, but it's certainly not light magic."

"Okay…so…we need someone evil?"

She shook her head. "Just someone who is neutral at the very least, little bit of dark, little bit of light…"

"Someone not in this room!"

She and Rapunzel looked up across the room at the boy and girl still sitting in the bed, they'd been oblivious to yet again. They really needed to get out of here.

"Okay," Rapunzel breathed, "now it's my turn for the ideas. Come with me! Kids, don't forget a condom!" she called pulling her out of the room. The weather had finally turned into an icy, sleet. Through it all, Rapunzel pulled her along to an unfamiliar part of town. It was a big building, brick, possibly three stories, which was huge in Storybrooke. "Okay," Rapunzel exclaimed turning around before they went in. "Just keep an open mind, alright?!"

That statement didn't exactly make her breathe any easier, but then again neither did the fact that she was shivering as the ice and rain hit her face. "Rapunzel I don't even know where we are!"

"Probably better that way," she muttered before going inside and up a set of stairs. She knocked on a door on her top floor. Then knocked again when the sounds of rain hitting the roof was their only answer. "I know you are in there, it's the middle of the day, and you don't have a job." Nearly a minute later a small crack appeared in the door and a single dark eye greeted them.

"What do you want?"

"I think this is about what you want," Rapunzel insisted.

"And what's that?"

"Control, over the magic inside of you, the opportunity to use it for something good."

That was a loaded statement, a statement that she didn't understand the meaning behind. She had no idea who this person, woman she assumed from the tone of voice, wanted or who she was. But it seemed as though Rapunzel did. And it seemed that she'd touched a nerve. After a few moments of consideration, the woman stepped back and opened her door to them. She was tall and beautiful, long dark hair, curvy in all the right places, clean and well put together, certainly not someone that she would have expected to be a recluse. Though inside the apartment, there were answers she hadn't expected. The apartment smelled of ash, and there were scorch marks, some small, others the size of sheep, all along the wall. And there against the back wall what looked like paper still smoldering.

"Not much more luck with magic than the last time I saw you," Rapunzel commented looking around.

She could have sworn she saw a nerve twitch somewhere in her saw. "It comes and goes," she answered defensively.

"Well," Rapunzel smiled, "maybe there is something we can do about that. Lily, I'd like you to meet Belle Gold, Belle this is Lily, Maleficent's daughter."

Her eyes widened and immediately she looked around the apartment once more, searching for a life she hoped wasn't also living in the apartment. It was Maleficent's daughter, but the dragon lady herself was not present. According to Lily, their relationship was rocky. She was trying her hardest to teach her about the magic that she possessed, sometimes the lessons went well, other times poorly. Lily was a fierce and strong young woman, someone who had done well for herself most of her life. Having a mother in her life was not an easy thing. At the moment they were fighting. She wouldn't reveal to her any more than that. Rapunzel simply explained that she had helped Lily find this apartment while she'd been away in Camelot. Granny's Bed and Breakfast left in shambles, meant that Lily, like the lost boys, had become homeless. Not wanting to stay with her mother and being old enough to be on her own, she should have been the easiest to home. If not for her magic. She'd had it her entire life, but she'd also lived outside of Storybrooke her entire life, and now that she was here the magic inside of her was proving difficult to control, especially when she didn't get along with her mother.

"I don't know how to do the spell you're talking about," Lily concluded when Rapunzel had finished her proposal. Her plan was to have Lily create the spell they needed. It was a good idea. When she'd first heard Rapunzel tell her about Lily, the first day she'd arrived in Storybrooke, she'd told her that there was something to her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Now that she was here and could see her for herself she had to admit, she was right. There was something dark about her, but it wasn't wickedness, not the same type of darkness Zelena gave off. It was difficult to say how, it was just…different. Her magic might be ideal to cast the spell that would fill the flower with magic. If only she knew how.

"We can take you to the fairies," she added. "They can help you cast the spell. They can give you instruction, they can help you control your power."

"I control my power just fine on my own!"

"Really?" Rapunzel chuckled. "That stack of bills you set on fire would suggest otherwise."

"That's just a bit of spring cleaning."

"In fall?" Rapunzel's pronouncement finally caught the young woman off guard. Her friend, it would seem never ceased to impress her. Quiet and scared as she'd once been, she was now fierce and smart. It was a shame she'd never gotten the opportunity to be Queen. She would have been very good at it. "Listen, Lily…the last time we spoke you told me that your magic was your own, that you didn't want it to be bad like your mother's magic. That happens to be the kind of magic that we need. And if you help us, then a lot of people, good people, who have been tricked and fooled by a very wicked man will wake up from their sleep and be free again. It's a good thing for your soul. Please consider it, truly consider it, before you turn the offer down," she begged breathlessly.

Lily looked her over carefully. She could practically see the wheels in her head turning as she thought the offer over, before her eyes finally glanced over Rapunzel's shoulder and landed on…her?!

"I want something in return," she demanded coolly. "From you."

"Me?!" she questioned. "What could I ever give to you?"

"A favor," she answered. "I'm working on something, seeking someone out. I'm following up on a few leads on my own, but in the future should I ever need assistance I want your help. I hear you're good at that."

She didn't have a response ready for a declaration like that. But she was right. She was good at solving problems and even finding people on occasion. It wasn't really luck, she just used her head and determination to find the answers that others gave up looking into. Wasn't that what she was doing now?!

"Who are you looking for?"

"That's my business. At least until Emma gets back to help me. And anyway I don't even know if I'll need help yet. It would just be nice to keep someone like you on retainer until I do."

"Someone like me…you mean someone who knows magic?"

"Something like that…" she smirked.

There is was again, that hint of something more beneath her skin, something she couldn't quite understand or put her finger on. It was utterly bewildering and unnerving. But it was also necessary in order to free the people of Camelot and help Storybrooke. With a sigh, she stepped forward and nodded.

"I'll do it," she promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I have no idea what to call this chapter. It's part back-up chapter, part set-up chapter, part filler chapter, part necessary chapter, part comic relief. Did anyone guess the Middlemist from Moments Taken would be the key in the last chapter? I gave it to Belle and told everyone to remember that he was giving it to her because it would be important in the fictions to come and this is why. I wanted to undo the curse put on the people of Camelot and this is how we're going to do it. With Lily, I just liked the opportunity to bring her back, to say "hey, I'm still in Storybrooke" and of course to have her ask Belle for help as a back up because let's be honest, if the character every comes back (and with the current state of things I'd say that's a big "if") we all know Emma isn't going to figure out her father all by herself. At some point Research!Belle would be needed, this opens up that door. Or maybe it doesn't, there are a lot of factors going on with this chapter so who knows!
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you, Taisch and Deweymay, for the comments you left me over the weekend. Thank you, so much for all the support and constant encouragement. It means so much to me! Peace and Happy Reading!


	16. Unnatural Natural Magic

Naturally, the icy rain that they had run through to get to the apartment building finally turned into snow the moment they left the brick building. Fortunately, Lily had an umbrella upstairs and returned with it only seconds afterward. Unfortunately, it also had small holes and scorch marks along it. It was impossible not to get wet and slip on the ground beneath them as the three of them made their way to her car, and they drove up to the convent with Lily and the flower in hand. Mother Superior was skeptical at first, unsure of the theory she'd read and come up with, but her argument was simple.

"Merlin as much as told me to do it. He told me that I had to keep this flower safe for the people of Camelot! I saw him remove the sands from Mary Margaret and David myself! He had mastered natural magic. This must be what he intended and besides…what have we to lose. If it doesn't work then we'll be no worse off than we already are, right?!"

Mother Superior relented but was quickly discouraged when she realized just how inexperienced Lily was with her magic. The nuns took her away as the light from the gray sky gave way to a deep purple and even green. She and Rapunzel waited with the kids, holding them, rocking them, and feeding them through the twilight, until Mother Superior returned with Lily, stating they were ready for the flower now.

Lily looked irritable, maybe even a little sad as she held her arms tight over her chest and looked tense, as if she were protecting herself from some kind of force. She felt like she would break in two if she reached out and touched her. "Lily, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine, can we just get this over with?!" she snapped moving away from her.

Her heart felt torn in two. Of course, she wanted to reach out and help the girl, talk to her, find out what had happened to bother her so, but she was afraid that would do no good at the moment. There were eighty-some people in that forest that needed Lily to do this. She could find out how she was afterward. She and Rapunzel happily set the babies back to sleeping and handed the Middlemist over to Mother Superior. She brought the four of them into a room of fellowship, placed the flower on a table with a white cloth covering it and nodded at Lily. "Just as we've practiced. See it, feel it, then will it."

Lily nodded and pulled her shaking tense arms away from her chest. She looked at the flower, stared at it with intensity, then closed her eyes. It was as though she was running a marathon. Her breath began to grow ragged, her tendons and muscles in her neck strained, her arms flexed and her hands drew together as she saw sweat form over her brow. After three short breaths, she began to slowly draw her hands apart and saw a bluish-gray ball of light grow. The further apart she drew her hands the more it grew until it was the size of a soccer ball. Outside a roll of thunder and flash of lightening lit up the sky, she jumped, and nearly missed the moment that Lily cast the ball of light down onto the flower.

It shimmered that same hue of bluish-gray as Lily bent over at the table gasping for breath! "Lily!" she cried moving toward her quickly. The girl only found the strength to move away and lift her arms in warning. "Don't touch me!" she roared, her eyes turning vibrant yellow. It worked. Whatever it was she'd done to herself; it certainly worked to stop her in her tracks and keep her away from the girl. But it didn't work on another nun, who crept up closer behind her and leaned over the table with her. "Breathe," she urged. "Just like we practiced."

"I remember!" she shouted over her shoulder before looking back at her. "Don't forget…we made a deal!" she cried before taking a gulp of air and running from the room.

"Lily!" Rapunzel exclaimed, taking flight after her with two other nuns. Once again she was tempted to follow. But instead, the flower sitting upon the table called to her. There were three people rushing to help Lily who seemed far more familiar with her than she did. Now was probably not the time.

"Did it work?" she inquired of Mother Superior, changing direction and looking at the Middlemist on the table. It looked no different than it had when she'd originally brought it to them.

"The only way to know is to test it. Or see if the powder it yields curses someone to see only broken things. But seeing as how there would be no way to reverse that, it doesn't seem like much of an option to me."

"So how do we turn it into a powder?" she asked as Superior picked the lone bud off the table.

"By reaping what we sow," she responded leading the way out of the room. Out in the hallway, she was offered an umbrella, and the two of them stepped outside into the snowy storm. The wind was shifting around them, blowing the snow that was beginning to stick to the grass. She held the umbrella as Superior extracted from the center of the flower several small seeds. With a wave of her hand, she cleared the snow off a flower bed and placed the seeds into the wet earth. When she opened her mouth to argue that they couldn't wait forever for the seeds to grow, Mother Superior stretched out her hand once more, and she watched as the sprouts grew out of the dirt and bloomed. Twelve flowers total. Mother Superior collected them, harvested another, and before she knew it, there were thirty flowers in their cold, stiff hands. Back inside they were set on the table, and the nuns stepped forward. There was chopping, boiling, sifting, mixing, cutting, and magic sizzled in the air just as it had long ago when they'd made a cure together at Granny's.

"Archie called." She jumped at the voice of her friend and looked behind her to see that Rapunzel had finally returned and her cell phone was clutched in her hand. Lily was nowhere in sight. "There's a problem with the storm and he needs me," she explained watching the women work.

"Where's Lily?" she questioned. "Is she alright?"

Rapunzel smiled. "Oh yeah...that girl is even tougher than she looks. She's fine."

Belle nodded at the answer and went back to staring at the women. "Go," she urged. "I'll get Merida from the prison on my way over and the two of us will finish this."

"I'll tell Archie to find someone else to guard Arthur while you're away," she concluded. "Call me after, tell me what happens!"

She nodded as she disappeared and continued to watch the nuns working on the floors. Finally, they slowly began to step back and go off to find other work to do. It was late, far passed the time for dinner, when Superior stepped forward and presented her with a small glass bottle that fit easily into the palm of her hand. Inside she found gray dust that glittered underneath the artificial lights. "Natural Magic," she whispered looking it over.

"Unnaturally made," Mother Superior added. "Go, now, see if it works so that if it doesn't we can begin the search for something else."

She took her warning seriously and drove through the wet streets of Storybrooke, back to the jailhouse where she found a man with brown curly hair chatting amiably with Merida. The woman almost looked taken with him, and she was sad to pull her away. But the moment the Queen saw the bottle in her hand she took off with her, shouting a farewell to the man called "August". She wasn't nervous until they drew closer to the camp and she found that Merida grew restless and prepared a bow and arrow.

"Will it really come to that?" she questioned.

Merida checked over the arrowhead, searching, she assumed, for blemishes. "Ya havn' seen 'em lately. They're out for blood, and a steady hand migh' be all that stands between you and a mob!" There was no responding to a comment like that. "Head into the woods, we'll test it out on some of the guards keepin' watch. Tha's as good a plan as any!"

As good a plan as any. It was the only plan that she'd heard but she wasn't really sure it was a good one. "Maybe I should give you the dust," she suggested. "You're better at this than me."

"You'll do fine," Merida dismissed unfeeling as she prepared her bow and arrow. "Besides I've got to make sure ya don' get killed! Jus' keep the magic on hand and follow me!"

She tried to tell herself that was rational, but in the end, it was nothing but a wing and a prayer. Merida was careful, a professional hunter just as she'd always known her to be. She walked carefully, foot over foot, her bow carefully drawn as she followed close behind feeling as graceful as a three-legged giant. But finally, she saw them. Two guards up ahead. Obviously assigned to guard the perimeter they stood together chatting aimlessly, unaware that Merida lurked. "Ready?" Merida questioned.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked quickly tipping some sand into the palm of her hand. She was so nervous she felt like her heart was pounding in her throat.

"Follow me!" Merida ordered sharply. She crept up on the two people still graceful, but faster than before. When they got close she drew the arrow back to the ready and yelled out "hey!" The guards looked up and before they could act her body reacted. She moved around Merida, held up her hand, and half blew, half threw, the dust in her hand at the two men.

A remarkable thing happened. Until that moment they'd been standing there fully armed and clothed, but the moment the dust hit them the metal began to rust, rot, and finally disappear, pieces of their clothes began to decay and blow away, one of their swords appeared chipped and the other disappeared altogether!

"What is that, what did you do?!" Merida panicked.

Her eyes widened and she swore that her heart stopped beating. "I have no idea!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, DUN! Were Merida and Belle successful? Will the curse ever be broken? Will we ever find out what happens to Pongo if Archie turns back into a Cricket? Find out on Saturday, when Moments continues!
> 
> And a wonderful and glorious thank you to Deweymay for the comments you've left me. You are so awesome and encouraging. Never change, dear! This is our last chapter that I call 5x15, heaven help us tomorrow we are moving on to 5x16. Expect a snail's pace, though. I never take things too fast! Peace and Happy Reading!


	17. Telling Tales

Yesterday had been long, without a doubt. But last night had been longer.

She'd learned more about the magic that she'd created than she knew she could. The spell worked. Better than she ever expected it to in fact. After she'd used the dust, the guards were confused; utterly confused. They felt as though they had just woken up from a dream, where everything was hazy and unclear. The wake up was a bit of a shock. But after they caught their breath, after they explained what had been done to them, they were content to help her and Merida save the rest of the people there. In the wind the snow storm conjured, they helped Merida climb the tree they stood behind with the dust in hand. Once she was as high up as she could go she was instructed to cast it out over the entire camp. From a safe distance, so she wouldn't be cursed by her own creation, she watched the campsite change. She didn't see the dust released, the grains were too fine for that, but she knew when it hit. People stopped moving all at once, then looked wildly around, then became utterly confused as clothes and certain items they were carrying began to tatter and deteriorate. But not all of them. Water bottles, tents, tables, metal chairs, everything they had been given since they'd arrived in this world remained perfect. But their clothes, books, pouches…they all disintegrated into practically nothing. Everything from Camelot. It made sense then. Camelot had been afflicted for years, and built on the back of the illusion. Her dust broke that illusion and so everything that they had finally began to decay and fall away.

"They're going to need new clothes," she'd muttered to herself and Merida the moment she climbed down the tree and they met again. She put the little bottle back into her hand and she observed that was still a fourth of the way full. She'd give it to the fairies. She couldn't deny that what she'd made would be terribly dangerous in the wrong hands, but she trusted the would protect it.

"That's no' all they're going to need!" She'd watched as Merida nodded into the commotion. Guinevere. Her dress was tattered far more than others, so much so that her hands were the only thing still holding it up and she was far more animated than she'd ever seen her. She was shocked at the departure. She'd always thought that she was without personality, ever since the moment she'd met her Guinevere had stood quietly beside Arthur. But now she understood that was only because of the dust. Before she'd sat quietly by Arthur's side, only speaking when spoken to, doing exactly what he'd asked of her, but last night she'd held up the ends of her patched skirt and looked frantically around the decayed and confused camp. She'd been calling out a name, but she didn't understand, she needed to be their leader now. They needed her.

Once she was sure the dust had done it's work, she'd run into the fray toward the woman with Merida quick on her heels. "Guinevere!" she'd called. "Guinevere!"

The Queen stopped calling and looked her over with skeptically and with confusion. "We've met?" she suggested. The dust, the spell she'd been under, it really was something unique.

"In Camelot," she'd explained. "My friends and I stayed with you and Arthur, we freed Merlin."

Suddenly her eyes became desperate. She dropped her frayed skirts and reached out for her arm. "Then you must know! Lancelot! You must know where he is! I think I remember arresting him!"

"Yes, I helped break him free-"

"Then you must know where he is! Please, I must speak to him at once! Explain!" Her eyes were frantic as they searched her own for answers. Belle had to think about them. Camelot seemed like a lifetime ago. But she did have answers for her, just none that she would like.

"Lancelot was with us, in Camelot. We rescued him and took him away. But the night we came here, the night the spell was cast he…he got away." She could remember. She hadn't been there the moment that Lancelot left, but she could remember the group getting back to the diner without him, and she could remember their explanation. "There was an emergency. He went away to find his mother, the Lady of the Lake. He's not here Guinevere, he must have gotten far enough away that the curse didn't grab him. He's still in the Enchanted Forest."

"Then we must go! We must get back home! I have to find him please!"

"Guinevere!" she'd had to give the woman a little shake, something that she'd never had to do with anyone before but she doubted that she would calm down otherwise. At that moment she hadn't needed a crazed Queen, she needed the leader that Lancelot had told her that she was. She needed someone who wasn't falling out of her dress.

Lacey's mind snapped to work at the mere suggestion of clothes. By the fire she found some decaying green clothe and a dull knife. It wasn't perfect but it was good enough. "I'll try. I promise I'll do everything I can to return you to Camelot and Lancelot as fast as possible, but Lancelot knows, he already understands," she'd explained as she cut the fabric into strips and began to work on the dress as she wore it so that it would stay on. "We spoke before he left, several times, he knew you hadn't betrayed him. He loved you. He believed in you, he believed that you were the Queen of Camelot a true leader. He believed that you could do that. Now," she stood before the queen as she finished the work in the back, haphazard as it was, it would work for all the longer that she needed it to. Lacey was happy. "Look at your people, Guinevere! Look at Camelot…they need a leader now. They need their leader now! They need you. They need guidance. And Guinevere…the attacks to free Arthur…they have to stop!"

Guinevere's eyes were opened. Well, they'd been open before, but with fear and confusion. After her statements she looked over the camp, the situation with new eyes and calmed dramatically. Even in her tattered clothes her demeanor completely changed. She became a Queen again, one that she hadn't been while she'd been at Arthur's side.

"People of Camelot!" she'd cried out. The world around her stopped. She stepped up on a nearby table, looked out over their faces and saw them calm as they saw her. She spoke to them about confusion, about not understanding. She urged them to settle down. She explained what had happened, the mistake that she'd made with Arthur that had caused all this. She called for peace, for order, to stop attacking their hosts to free a King who's Kingdom had been built upon lies. She wanted them to build a new Kingdom, together. Not of the back of a spell, but with their own hands, something that they deserved, so that when they finally returned to Camelot, when they finally went home, they could live life honestly.

It was passed midnight by the time she got home. Merida stayed with them, offering her services to Guinevere, "from one Queen to another". She tried to call Rapunzel, as she'd promised, but the call only went to voicemail. She told her she was tired, that the dust had worked, and she was headed home for the night, she'd explain everything to her tomorrow morning at work. But when she arrived that morning she found the door still locked and the library quiet. She tried calling Rapunzel again, but got no answer. Upstairs, she knocked on the door to the apartment but heard nothing inside. She wondered if she should call Flynn, but she didn't want to worry him if it wasn't necessary. And if they were together she certainly didn't want to interrupt. In the end, she simply redialed and-

The door to the library popped open at the second tone. "I'm here!" Rapunzel called coming in with a box of donuts in one hand and her cell phone in her other. "I'm here, sorry."

"I was starting to worry," she explained. "Are you wearing the same clothes? Were you out all night?"

"Yeah," she breathed setting the donuts on the counter and unloading to bottles of orange juice from her bag. "And you thought your night was rough. Congrats by the way! On the powder. The power of magic and intelligence prevails!" She lifted one of the bottles of orange juice in toast, the two knocked their bottles together then removed the lids and drank back. They chose their donuts and Rapunzel collapsed into another chair with her behind the circulation desk.

"So, where were you all night? Flynn?"

"I wish. Archie and I were out at the rowhomes the dwarves live in," she explained. "The storm was worse than we thought. A tornado touched down and destroyed the one that belongs to…Happy I think? I don't know, they all blend together after a while. But let me tell you something. Happy was anything but happy about it, and Dopey! He doesn't say much but his eyes when he's upset…it's like he burns a hole in your soul."

"Wait, wait…Dopey?! I thought he was a tree!"

"Oh no, we got him out days ago!" she corrected casually, reaching for a second donut. "Just after you came back I guess. He's applying for a masters program at the local University. Doc said he found his calling inside the tree or whatever that means."

That was all news to her! Dopey, the master's program, even the university! "Storybrooke has a University?!"

"Surprising right! You think you know the town and then you find an entire new world inside the old one. I just keep thinking about all those poor kids stuck in their senior year for twenty-eight years. Now that's a curse."

She laughed before taking a second donut for herself as well. "Well, how did you get him out of the tree? I thought you said you didn't have any magical experience?"

"I didn't. Archie got the fairies to lift the curse outside the townline, once Emma's will to reinforce the magic weakened or something like that. And Flynn knew a nymph who helped. Did you know nymphs glitter? It's how they reproduce or something wild like that. Mmm! But anyway, that's old news! Tell me what happened after I left!"

She went over it all again, from the beginning. She told her about how she grew the flowers quickly with Mother Superior, how they worked tirelessly to deliver the powder to her, she even told her about the man that Merida had been talking to when she'd picked her up, for which Rapunzel had a surprising answer.

"August Booth, he's Geppetto's son."

She nearly choked on her donut. "August?! The same little August he brought with him to Granny's a year ago?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "I suppose so?" Right, of course she wouldn't know that was before her time but...

"But…but I thought he was a boy! He was transformed just after the curse broke! I've seen him myself!"

"Yeah…he's been a man again for…a while now I suppose. I can't remember how…anyway Archie knows him and has been helping. He's around when we need him but when we don't he tends to retreat, he can be a bit...lost at times. I think he enjoys the quiet." August was fully grown, Zelena's pregnancy lasted months, and seniors at the university waited twenty-eight years to graduate. Did anything in this town happen as it was supposed to? "So, what happened after you picked Merida up?" Rapunzel urged.

She shrugged. This was actually the easy part. "We snuck up on some guards, tested the dust, it worked on them so Merida climbed a tree and distributed it. There was a lot of confusion and wandering, even some crying, but when Guinevere spoke it all stopped. Lancelot was right…she's the rightful Queen."

"Lancelot…the man you met in Camelot?"

She nodded. "He's still there. Or I assume he is. We haven't accounted for him here and I know he was leaving Camelot when the curse struck."

"That's so sad. Does she love him as much as he said she did?"

And there was the sadness in this tale. Though it appeared Camelot had their memories and their minds back, it was not a happy ending yet. "She does. And of course she wants to go back to Camelot, to find him and rebuild their Kingdom. Lancelot belongs by her side not Arthur. Any man who keeps a woman by force instead of freewill..." The thought of it made her shudder as old sad feelings crept into her mind. That was her old life, before she'd met Rumpelstiltskin, it wasn't what she had now.

Beside her Rapunzel sighed. "Can anything be done?" she asked softly, her voice full of concern.

"Traveling between realms?" she chuckled. It was ridiculous just how often this topic came up and how often they had done it despite the fact that it was one of the most difficult things to do in all of magic.

"It's not easy. At the moment the Apprentice's wand is the only way I can think of but I can't figure out where it would be. I know it came back with us from Camelot, I remember seeing it there with the rest of our things, and I know Regina must have used it to send Zelena away, but where it is now…I couldn't say for sure. Searching Regina's properties would be my first bet and searching the Pawn Shop would be my second, but that's still just a bet."

"Is there any hope?" Rapunzel questioned sitting forward and looking her over sadly.

Of course there was hope. She only feared that she had no idea when that hope would arrive. "When I go to the convent this afternoon to feed the babies I'll ask Mother Superior if she can think of anything. If not…then they'll just have to wait until Regina gets back, until they all return home or search for it ourselves."

Rapunzel nodded and sat back in her seat chewing her donut looking perfectly exhausted. It was no surprise with the night she'd had, the night they'd both had but…

"Did you say there was a tornado last night?" she questioned suddenly looking her over.

She nodded with her eyes still closed. "Strong one too, took out Happy's home, poor guy. Why?"

Why? Why did all this matter? Because something about it just wasn't sitting right with her. She hadn't noticed it when Rapunzel first told her but now that she was really thinking about it...

"Did anything else seem odd to you about it?"

That got the girl's bloodshot eyes to open. "No…a tornado is a tornado right? Belle what are you thinking?"

"Nothing it's just…there was a storm last night but there is snow on the ground this morning-"

"A dusting, really, in the end, it didn't even stick to the road."

"Rain, snow, and a tornado all in one day, that's not odd to you?"

Rapunzel raised her eyebrows and plucked up a napkin to wipe her face. "Belle, it's Storybrooke, I've only been here a few months, and I already know that stranger things have happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deep breath, and here we are! Welcome one and all to 5x16. And Lacey was mentioned so I know at least Deweymay will be happy! So there you have it. What was I going to have Belle do between 5x12-5x16? This was it! To recap, we have rehomed Roland, taken care of two babies without parents, had a conversation with Belle's dad, become friends with Rapunzel, and to top it all off we've broken the Camelot curse by unnaturally creating natural magic! Whew! Did I keep her busy enough? I won't lie, what Belle would be doing when she was off screen was probably the most asked question I got for this fiction, so I hope that no one is disappointed. Now, everyone say good-bye to Rapunzel because we won't see her until the next fiction! Time to exchange the Storybrooke minor characters for some major characters, don't you think?
> 
> Thank you Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter. I am so happy everything was to your satisfaction. I hope that this chapter answered a lot of the questions that you've been asking, though I know that not all of them have been just yet. More to come next week as we use this chapter as a jumping off point for the 5x16 episode. So, like I said, deep breaths, we're in this to the bitter end I suspect! Peace and Happy Reading!


	18. Stranger Things

Stranger things had been known to happen in Storybrooke, absolutely, Rapunzel was right. She was probably making a mountain out of a molehill…but as she drove her car up to the convent the snow on the side of the road seemed to be staring her down, daring her to make certain assumptions. It wasn't even that cold?! Snow and rain and a tornado of all things in one night?! That seemed even stranger than...well, strange.

But stranger things had been known to happen.

Perhaps that was what was bothering her, was the tornado the work of mother nature, or was it one of those stranger things? Was she just being paranoid and over thinking what had happened or was it something more? She honestly didn't know the difference anymore. She felt like she was so conditioned to accept the worst situation than she didn't even see the ideal ones anymore.

But she did know that this afternoon she had a task to do, just as she'd had a task to do every other day since Rumple and the others left. So after Rapunzel had taken a shower and gotten dressed, after she assured her that she didn't want to take a nap in the middle of the day and would prefer to just go to bed early tonight, she let herself into Mary Margaret's apartment once more. She grabbed a bit of the breast milk left in the fridge and then mixed the formula for Robin's daughter there. The way she saw it there was no need to keep it at Regina's house when it hadn't been there in the first place. Though there wasn't much point, on her way up to the convent she would have to stop and pick up more formula, she was already out of the first batch she'd brought.

Dawning a brown coat and warm hat she made her way up to the convent, doing her best to keep her eyes on the road and not on the snow on either side of her. Yes, it was odd, but she couldn't think of that now. She had to think forward, she had to think about the babies, she had to think about the very real problem before her that Neal was running out of milk, Mary Margaret's to be exact. Clearly, she'd had a decent supply stashed in the house, but after days of working through that supply, it was nearly gone. Where did they go from here, did they do their best to wean him off the breast milk and get him on formula? Was that what Mary Margaret would want? Was it easy? Would he know the difference? Would he make a fuss? With his mother unavailable was there really any other option? She didn't know the answers to any of those questions, but she felt as though there was no choice in the matter, unless of course Mary Margaret and David came back, by her calculations, within the next forty-eight hours. If not then they'd have no choice but to transition him. Clearly, when she got back to the library tonight, after she forced Rapunzel to sleep, she would have to do some research of a very different nature.

When she arrived at the convent there was a light dusting of snow on the ground that matched the rest of Storybrooke, but while it had bothered her up until this moment, suddenly she shouldered her bag and felt her smile grow. In Rumpelstiltskin's absence, this had become her favorite part of each and every day.

Inside she walked with purpose towards the nursery. No one stopped to ask her questions, not even about how the spell had gone last night. She could see they were eager, but happy to wait until the babies had what they needed.

The babies were already awake from their morning naps when she arrived. And though she was surprised to see that the nursery was unattended she wasn't worried. They were babies in their cribs not crying. How much trouble could they get into?

"Why, hello, little ones," she whispered in greeting after setting her bag aside and pulling their bottles free. Noticing that Robyn's blanket was slightly undone she reached over to tuck her in further. "Hey, did you sleep well?" she asked them both. "Yeah?" They cooed in sleepy response. Neal laughed and smiled at her familiar face and she found herself beaming. "Hi!" she smiled back, happy that he was laughing and gurgling. No surprise. After the last few days they'd both had they needed the excuse to smile. And so did she. This really was the best part of her day.

"Belle!" She glanced up and found Mother Superior walking into the room with a beaming smile. "What are you doing here?"

What was she doing here? The same thing that she'd been doing here for the last few days the same thing that Mother Superior had asked her to do! "Uh…formula, for the babies?" she explained motioning to the bottles in her hand.

Mother Superior let out a small laugh and shook her head at the silliness. "Of course! Here, I'll help," she suggested like always. Mother Superior took one of the bottles from her hand and she turned her attention to Neal only to find Mother Superior had taken his bottle…and was reaching for Robin's daughter.

"Uh, the red one's hers," she pointed out before she could pick up the baby.

"Oh!" she chuckled exchanging the bottles. "Right, I don't know where my head is today." It was a small comment; it was a small mistake! In the end, she knew it wouldn't matter which was which, it was only the fact that giving anyone other than Neal Mary Margaret's breast milk made her shudder. But the fact that it was Mother Superior making the mistakes…and after last night…

"Uh…Mother Superior, what-what's going on?" she questioned. Had more happened after she'd left last night? Was there a reason none of the fairies had questioned her on her way in? Had Mother Superior heard something more that she and Rapunzel hadn't? Her mind was racing a mile a minute thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong!

But her only answer was the look up at her with wide eyes and a smile that wasn't quite right. "Nothing. Everything's fine," she responded too happily for what they'd done last night. She tried to ignore it by turning her attention back to Neal, but something was rolling around in her head that she didn't like. She had never known "nothing" to be going on in this convent.

"No, it's not!" she turned at the sound of the voice that belonged to…Mother Superior! Coming down the stairs, wand in her hand, staring at the woman next to her. Mother Superior. A perfect copy. An imposter!

"What…"

"Who are you?" the fairy demanded of her double. She only glanced over at her and held her stance by the baby's crib. The baby, she was practically guarding her at the moment, since the moment she'd come into the room actually, that was the only clue she needed. The weather last night…she knew it was odd.

"Zelena…" she breathed. The false Mother Superior let out a small chuckle, and suddenly the smile she was giving her was familiar. "You really are a clever girl," she stated before her body changed and morphed into that of Zelena, dressed in black, hat, green scarf and all…all but the bottle she still held in her hand. Next to her, she heard Superior let out a gasp of surprise. She knew the feeling, even though she knew in her gut what had happened she was surprised too! She didn't know where, but she knew the Apprentices Wand was here in Storybrooke! This was impossible!

"No, no, no, Regina sent you back to Oz! Ho-how did you-"

"All you need to know I that my sister can't keep me down!" she spat back, leaving her question unanswered. "I've come for my baby. So, if you wish to remain alive, step aside!" she snapped leaning back into the crib after pocketing the bottle. This wasn't happening! It wasn't! It was the worst possible outcome in all of this and she felt helpless to stop it! But she couldn't let her take that child! She'd destroy it just as she destroyed nearly everything else she touched!

"You summoned the tornado last night!" she accused keeping her talking and hoping that Mother Superior was thinking of something that would help them! "You figured out a way to jump realms."

"Yes and I'll do it again, and this time, I'll take a very special package with me!" she shouted, bundling her daughter up. The baby began to cry in her arms. She began to panic.

"You…you can't do that, it's Robin's daughter! He'll never see her again!"

"Why not? Isn't that exactly what they were going to do to me?" With that she lifted the baby out of the crib, undeterred by the screaming the infant was doing.

"Put her-put her down!" she begged.

"Or what? Hm? You'll smite me with your book learning?"

"Oh I have something more than that!" Mother Superior threatened for her, raising the wand in her hand. She'd never felt her heart beat faster. This was as dire a situation as any. They could not let her leave with the baby! But now Zelena was holding her in her arms, Superior had to take that into account what was she going to her might affect the baby. They had to get her set her down!

"Please, neither of you would dare risk hurting my child!" Zelena cried, calling the fairy's bluff.

"Want to bet!" Superior threatened unflinching. That was the woman she knew. But right now that was not the woman they needed.

"Please, Zelena, give her to me! She'll be safe, I'll make sure that Robin lets you see her!"

"I don't believe you!" she hissed holding the baby closer before looking Mother Superior dead in the eye. "And even if I did why would I let you have her? Hand her over to you and go back to living in that padded cell? Having to beg to see my daughter? I think not, not when I can escape with her to Oz and have her all to myself. You will let me pass."

"Try me!" Mother Superior threatened.

"No, don't you see, you'll hurt the child, it's not worth it, Zelena…" she breathed trying to catch her breath when she didn't stand down. "No, no!" she urged, suddenly wondering how much help Superior actually was at the moment. "You-you don't want to hurt your baby!"

"No!" the witch sneered looking back at her. "But I don't mind hurting you." Her heart was hammering, but suddenly the answer seemed obvious. How fast could Zelena react while trying to protect her baby, with Mother Superior at the ready? All she needed was to get the child, to stand between her and the magic for just long enough so that Mother Superior could stun the witch and they could take away her magic and imprison her. How willing would Zelena be to hurt her when her baby was between them?

"Okay," she breathed deep, mustering her courage, hoping the Blue Fairy would catch onto her plan. This was certainly doing the brave thing! "We'll see!" And then she declared war, stepped forward to grab the baby, and-

The entire room shook. Violently. Instead of reaching for the baby she reached out for Neal's crib to try and steady herself against Zelena's attack. The lights began to flicker, Mother Superior was struggling to stay on her feet…and Zelena was no different. Her magic was driven by passion, that made it dangerous and erratic. Much more and she would hurt the child she was trying to protect. The cribs moved suddenly, out from against the wall and she and Superior struggled to try and keep Neal where he was, away from Zelena. But her own daughter…

"Stop it!" she cried over the noise. "You're endangering everyone!"

"It's not me that's doing it!" the witch cried, sounding genuinely worried as she struggled to keep upright and keep an arm around her child. Struggling to hold her baby. That was what she needed. Suddenly there was a noise like a great explosion. The floor, it began to open up into a swirling vortex of red, orange, yellow, and smoke. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she was suddenly aware that Zelena was struggling to stay on her feet just as much as she was. She used it against her. With Mother Superior to protect Neal and Zelena properly distracted, she reached forward, grabbed the baby out of Zelena's arms, and yanked.

The witch fought her when she realized what was happening. She pulled the baby back and somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that it was a portal on the floor. A portal was opening up to God only knew where! But she knew it wasn't here, it wasn't in this room, where her mother was trying to steal her from her father. That was good enough for her. She tightened her arms around the baby between them, pushed her away with her shoulder, gave the baby another good yank…and let herself and the baby fall through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so hopefully this chapter came out seamlessly. If you'll recall, this "scene" was also cut away a few times so that we could see Rumpelstiltskin working on creating the portal down below with Hades. Whenever we cut back, Belle was saying something new that obviously wasn't connected to the last thing she'd said. I timed it out, one break was longer than the other, I did my best to try and fit together some dialogue that properly filled in the time and seemed appropriate to the situation at hand. It's always a little difficult to do this, but when I can't remember what I've made up and what was actually in the show that's when I know it worked. With any luck, this dialogue will be like that for you as well.
> 
> Thank you so very much, Deweymay, for your comments. I am always happy to see those little gems show up in my inbox. What am I not happy about? I think some of you could probably guess. A musical episode...oh boy...I don't even know how to begin writing that. I gotta admit that I'm not terribly excited about it, but I don't seem to be alone. I'd say you've 48% is super unhappy, 48% is super excited, and only about 4% are actually indifferent. Love it or hate it? What are your thoughts? Peace and Happy Reading!


	19. Logic and Distrust

It was odd to think that in all her life, after all she'd been through and done she'd never gone through a portal. She'd been kidnapped, placed under curse after curse, lived in an asylum for years, been swept up in tornados and clouds of smoke, and watched others disappear into the depth of magical portals…but she'd never actually gone through one that fit the description of "portal" herself.

Being in a portal was a strange feeling. From somewhere above she could hear Zelena yell "no!" but it only made her hold the baby tighter. There was the feeling of gravity, like she was being pulled toward somewhere but she didn't really experience the feeling of falling. There was wind everywhere, rushing over her shoulders, up her dress, around the baby, and yet she and the child remained unmolested. Her dress stayed in place, the baby blanket hardly moved, her hat didn't even fall off. Was she dropping? Was she falling? Or was the world around her just changing? She needed-

She gasped as something suddenly moved just passed her shoulder, a sharp moving pain of some kind that forced her to pick her head up and see-

The feeling her body was going through was unclear, but the feeling inside her body, the moment her heart dropped and her insides felt like they were turning to overcooked mush was clear. Zelena! Zelena was in the portal with them! She'd felt so sure that the witch would never have jumped in after them, especially without knowing where the portal was going. But there she was! And there was her hand, green sparks in her palm, eyes on target as wind blew around her too. Zelena threw the sparks her direction. She reacted by trying to make herself small against the baby and never felt the blow come. She lifted her mouth to scream "stop!" but no words came out of her mouth and-

Pain!

Pain suddenly radiated from her ankles and knees and then her legs and backside. The wind died immediately and it took a while for her ears to adjust to the silence she heard, the world underneath her body, and figure out what had happened.

The portal was gone. They'd arrived somewhere, and she'd landed on her feet. Hard. But she'd quickly slipped on something or other and felt herself crumble to the ground. The baby in her arms had moved, and she'd turned her body to catch her properly and shield her from the impact that she suddenly felt in her elbows and shoulders. The baby was crying, she was breathing heavily, doing her best to catch her breath, but there was the sound of more movement beside her, and when she turned her face she saw her worst fear. It was Zelena, sprawled out on the ground beside her, trying to get her own footing. The feeling that she'd had inside the portal came back to her all at once! Her escape plan hadn't worked, Zelena had come after them, was right next to her. And that was very bad. A look around indicated that Mother Superior had not come with them and she didn't stand a chance alone against Zelena. She didn't need Zelena here nor did she want Zelena here. Wherever here was?

Here was…home! It was Storybrooke! As she looked around, she was amazed to see that she was just outside the convent! Maybe she wasn't in as much danger as she thought she was, only…why would Zelena summon a portal only to take her outside the convent?

"What happened? How did we get out here?" she heard herself ask as she sat up and took stock of her situation, hoping that maybe a fairy would come running outside to help defend her against the witch.

"My baby!" Zelena began crying at the same time her daughter did. "My baby, is she alright?!" The woman lunged for her-

Then a cry of a different kind ripped from her mouth and her face twisted in pain. Zelena focused her breath, and she held hers, watching between Zelena and her unharmed daughter, trying to figure out what was happening and what she had to do. Zelena righted herself and fiddled with her ankle. Naturally, that was the problem. She'd had wedge shoes that made the balancing on impact a little easier, Zelena in her stilettos hadn't been as lucky. She could use that to her advantage! She prepared to stand and run into the convent again with the quieting child before her mother could heal herself until "oh my magic!" Zelena shrieked.

She glanced over at Zelena and saw the oddest thing. She wasn't healing. She was trying, clearly. She was moving her hand over her leg, but it wasn't turning purple like healing spells often did. What was going on? What had Zelena done to them that would deliver them to the front of the building and take away her magic? Not that she regretted that at the moment, of course. That seemed to be her saving grace!

"Zelena…what did you do?" she demanded.

"I didn't do anything, this wasn't me!" she growled through clenched teeth still trying to heal herself. Still failing to heal herself. Oddly enough, with just that one sentence she was willing to believe that statement. Clearly, the witch was frazzled by the events, and logically she couldn't think of any kind of argument for why she would transport them to the front of the convent or want to knock out her own magical powers in a time when she needed them most. So if Zelena didn't do this? Who had? Who would want them out front of the convent?

"Okay, then if it wasn't you then who was it and…where are we?" she questioned looking around the familiar grounds. No. Not familiar. Almost familiar. Until she noticed one thing about this world that wasn't what she knew it was. "And why is the sky red?"

"Oh no, no!" Zelena shrieked. But this cry wasn't out of despair or pain or even confusion! It was out of regret, possibly even irritation. Zelena did know where they were.

"What?" she questioned desperately. They weren't home. She had to know where they were! Especially if she was going to get home and protect this child from Zelena! Every little bit of information would count!

The witch took a deep breath, one of resignation, then turned to her and calmly stated, "We're in the Underworld."

So obvious, so calm, it was as if she hadn't just said they had traveled through a portal that brought them to a world of death and destruction, brought her own daughter to a place of death and destruction!

"Okay!" she breathed shaking herself free from the realization. Shocked as she was, she recognized there was no time to panic. She glanced up at the convent, a perfect copy of the one back home and recalled Rumple's warnings that the Underworld and Storybrooke were very similar. Suddenly everything fell into place. "Then uh…then Rumple must need my help, that's why we're here!" Zelena, her daughter, they were collateral damage. The others, Rumple, he must have summoned her. Regina must have created the portal because he needed something from her just as he had in Neverland. Without his magic, something had clearly gone wrong, but she knew that if she stayed here, with Zelena and the baby, then what was wrong would never be right! She quickly got off the ground, steadied the baby who was miraculously going back to sleep already, in her arms and…where was she supposed to go? The convent was in the middle of nowhere, it was one of the few places she had to drive the car to! Rumple and the others were nowhere in sight, where was she supposed to-

"Hades!" Zelena breathed next to her. She glanced down at the woman who didn't seem to have an ounce of pain on her face anymore just…just sadness. "We're here because of me," she observed quietly. But it was all confusing. Zelena? Not her?

"Uh?!"

"Now I know why! My baby!" Zelena raised her arms as if she expected her to just plop the baby girl down in her arms after that!

"Wait…Hades wants your baby?"

Zelena nodded. "Hand her over!" she demanded. "Please!"

No. She saw this for what it was! Hades wouldn't summon Zelena! Or her daughter! That didn't make any sense at all! This was just a trick! An attempt to get her to give her back her daughter and get out of here for some reason! Zelena was not to be trusted, she knew better. She wasn't getting her hands on this baby. She'd die before she allowed that.

"No," she refused. "No, nothing good ever came of anyone ever trusting you!"

"Give her to me!" Zelena cried. No. There was no chance of that. And she needed to get away from Zelena now while she still could. "Belle, please give her to me! I can keep her safe! Please! Belle! Belle!" The witch's cries filled the air as she walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, filler chapter, but it certainly bridges the gap, introduces Belle to Underbrooke, and frankly begins to show one of the greatest flaws in the writing of this part of the season. I don't know if you caught it, I didn't until I was writing Moments, but I hope that it'll be exposed and everyone will think that I covered it well or at least in a way that makes more sense than the show did. Ah...the suspense.
> 
> Big, big thank yous to Deweymay and Ultimate_ouat_addict for your comments on the last chapter and for your interesting comments on the musical episode. We seem to have the entire range of opinions about it. Is it strange that at this point I'm not excited for the episode but to see the reaction from fans? As always, Peace and Happy Reading!


	20. When Fantasy and Reality Collide

She could hear Zelena calling out for them for what felt like miles as she and the baby hiked away from their arrival point, but fortunately she never came after them. Her injured leg was their advantage. Though her joints hurt from the impact she was still capable of walking and that was exactly what she had to do. She had to get the pair of them somewhere safe.

She couldn't trust Zelena. Not a single bit. It was impossible to know how much of what she'd told her had been true or had been a ploy for her to hand over the little girl in her arms. Therefore, until she had some other kind of confirmation, she couldn't trust anything she'd said, not even the bit about being in the Underworld. Though the red sky and Rumple's comments about the two worlds being similar certainly seemed to support that claim. But why the Underworld would look like Storybrooke on the other hand…confusing as it was, maybe that was too her advantage too.

If, and she wasn't ready to say they were, but if she was in the Underworld and the Underworld resembled Storybrooke then maybe that was all the hint that she needed. She'd start at the regular places and look for them in town. The pawnshop, her library, and then city hall. If they weren't in any of those places then Granny's, Mary Margaret's apartment, their house, Regina's house, Emma's…one by one she'd search them all if she had to until she located her missing friends. And if she couldn't find them, if Zelena had been completely lying and they weren't in the Underworld?

Then she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. This world, no matter what it was, mirrored after Storybrooke, the portal had taken them here, so there had to be some kind of magic at work even if it did use different rules. She was smart. She'd figure out a way to open another portal. Or the others would get back, learn what had happened and they'd come after her. Either way, they'd get home. "Don't worry little one," she cooed as she walked, holding the baby closer to her, "we'll get you back to your father!"

Her legs were sore, her mind was racing, her heart was absolutely pounding, but she couldn't let it stop her. The town was a fair distance from the convent, true, but it wasn't as distant as it could be. She could walk. She'd walk every minute for the rest of her life if that was what it took to keep Zelena at bay.

After what did in fact feel like hours Main Street began to come into view and with it, people as well. At first, it was a welcomed sight, when she and Zelena had first arrived, she'd seen no one and began to fear that maybe they were in a world without people. Bodies were a good sign…but she quickly began to take back her elation the moment she saw them, really and truly saw them. There was something wrong with them, all of them, not just one or two! The more she walked down Main Street, the more she saw of them, the more she realized. These people were…dead. No, not just dead physically, but inside. She could see they were husks. They met her eyes, but inside of them, she saw nothing. Nothing but a look that reminded her of what she saw in the mirror after she'd been told she was to marry Gaston. Only worse. It was terrifying because she always thought there was nothing worse. Apparently, wherever they were, this was worse.

They were wanderers, people who had been down here for who knew how long! At first, she'd been stunned, so stunned that the first one who caught her eye made her stop dead in her tracks. The next dozen hadn't been any easier to face, they mostly just made her want to break down into tears and cry. She wanted to help them. But there was no help for the dead, at least none that she knew about yet. And even if she could help them she wasn't sure she really would be any kind of help. People died for a reason, to leave space behind for the little ones like the baby in her arms. She wasn't even really convinced that coming down to get Killian was a good thing. His death was regrettable, but so was Neal's.

Neal, her mother, her grandmother…that thought had been the one to turn her stomach. If all these people who had died were here, did that mean that people she'd know were here too? Her mother and grandmother? What if she ran into Neal? What was she supposed to do then?

The thought startled her and forced her to cast her eyes down and away from the souls that she saw walking around on the street. She couldn't face them and the more she came into contact with them the more that she began to shiver. Finally, the pawnshop loomed up ahead, but that wasn't the only thing she saw. The clocktower…in the middle of the road.

Though it was chilly here, just as chilly as in Storybrooke she supposed, she felt begin to sweat, her jacket made her feel hot and confined, and it was getting difficult to breathe with each new soul she encountered and each sad excuse for a building. She was glad when she saw that the lights were off in the pawn shop it gave her an excuse to take a breath and to seek refuge away from people in a building she knew and loved but that looked almost as deserted as the pawn shop.

Her library. Though the clocktower was on the ground, clearly damaged, the rest of the library seemed intact, and she pulled on the door all too happy when it allowed her admittance but-

Her library wasn't her library. The floor was the same pattern, books filled the shelves, the circulation desk was there, but it wasn't her library. A missile, or maybe a smokestack of some kind was growing right up in the middle of the floor. The place looked as though it had been torn apart and small fires met her gaze every which way she turned. This was a façade of what her library truly was. It was just as disturbing as it was outside, disturbing enough to make her wonder for one moment if the powder to make things appear broken had in fact infected her.

"God!" she gasped rocking the baby and looking around. No, her mind couldn't come up with something this awful, not even under a curse! "What is this place?"

She was beginning to fear that Zelena had told her the truth, that they really were in the Underworld. It made sense in many ways but of course what terrified her was the question of what else Zelena had said that might have been true! The smell of sulfur was overwhelming. Was that safe for children? Was that safe for her? Maybe she shouldn't be right next to a smoking-

A noise interrupted her thoughts. A familiar noise that drew her attention to one more similarity. The elevator. Wherever she was it was just as active here as it was in Storybrooke. Nothing good ever came out of that elevator!

Quickly, she turned round and round, and though there was no good hiding place she trusted in this twisted version of her temple, she found one that she hoped would be sufficient…so long as no one looked carefully. She hid behind one of the few bookshelves that weren't on fire. It was busy, she hoped it would hide her face, but it also gave her a clear view of the elevator.

She held her breath as she ducked, watching the gears turn, the doors open, the grates by the door lowered, and out stepped-

Her husband! He was alone. And though she had a million questions she couldn't be sure he could answer, she was glad for that one small favor.

She stood straight up and felt herself gasp as her husband moved into the foyer of the library. She wasn't the only one to hear her gasp, he immediately stopped at the sound, located her, and every muscle in his body came to a screeching halt as he laid eyes on her.

"Rumple!" she smiled.

"Belle!" his grimace disappeared as he stared in wonder. More wonder than he should have had if he'd had a hand in summoning her. In another place, in another time, she knew that she would have run right into his arms, but current circumstances forced her to be a little more demure. For starters, she was holding a baby. And then there was the fact that while they were working on their relationship again it wasn't healed and her instincts were still hidden under pain and anguish of the past. She wasn't a girl anymore, but still, while she didn't fling herself into his arms as she might have a year ago, she did hurry over to him.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned, making her heart drop. If he'd summoned her he'd know the answer to that question. Zelena couldn't have possibly been telling the truth about her daughter, could she? The Underworld was one thing, but Hades being after Zelena…

Suddenly Rumple's eyes widened and the delight he'd had faded into one of terror as he looked her over. "You're…you-you're not-"

"No!" she burst out reading his mind. He was here. Zelena was right about that, they were in the Underworld and if he hadn't summoned her then his natural assumption would be-

"No, I'm…I'm alive!" she confirmed. He let out a breath of relief, and she tried to dismiss the odd words from her mind. She never thought she'd ever have to clarify whether or not she was dead. But then again she'd never thought she'd be here either. "A-a portal brought me and the baby and…Zelena."

His reaction wasn't what she'd thought it would be. She expectedwar zonesurprise, maybe even shock and horror at having his nemesis in the same world as him again once more. But instead, he stared at the baby in her arms with wonder. "That's why the spell didn't work as I thought!" he exclaimed. "Brought over three bodies instead of one."

That was a comment she hadn't been prepared for. How many portals could his blood open exactly and…and why?! Something wasn't making sense. He was surprised to see her, so he hadn't summoned her as she thought. But he'd intended to summon someone. "Y-you did this then who were you trying to bring if not me and you didn't know Zelena was back and…no." She glanced down at the child in her arms, the child he was staring at, unsurprised to see. The baby?! He'd summoned a baby?! Zelena's baby?! "Why would you steal a baby?!" she demanded holding her closer. His mother wasn't around was she? Or his father for that matter?! She knew he was dead but the last time he'd taken a child-

"No, no, it was Hades!" he corrected. But that didn't exactly clear things up. She'd been telling the truth?! That didn't make sense either! Why would Hades want Zelena's child? "He used leverage to force me." Leverage to force him? But… "Look," he eased, "a long time ago, long before we even met, I made a deal, one I never thought would rear it's head." Suddenly her stomach rolled over in her belly and she felt her heart jump into her throat. Something was wrong. Something was wrong and she was feeling that instinct she'd felt at the town line days ago, the one that told her to run far and run fast. What was happening?

"What did you do?" she questioned shifting her weight, forcing herself not to take a step back.

"My boy was sick. In exchange for Baelfire's life, I made a deal to give up my second born child."

Second born child?! What was he talking about? He didn't have a second born child, she was sure he'd have told her if he did! He'd told her about Neal and Cora…why not that?! "Y-you don't have a second born child," she pointed out timidly. Why did she already know that the answer that came next wasn't going to be good?

He looked down at her. He gestured to her. "It happened, Belle," he said…looking at her.

Her. It happened to her. With her. Her. But that meant-

She nearly dropped the child in her arms as the pieces fell into place and she realized what he was saying. The comment Mother Superior had made about her health, going so far as to call Granny to make sure she ate, chastising Roland for climbing on her…the way he was looking at her now. Her. It happened with her, with them. They'd been together before he left, she'd hadn't been careful for months, counting her days and when it was safe and not safe because they'd barely been together and the result…her? Them?! They were...they were pregnant?

"No…I-I'm pregnant?" she questioned, stepping forward. Tears filled her eyes and she felt her heart begin to pound once more in anticipation of what he'd say. He too looked as though he was about to break into tears, but he nodded wholeheartedly. Through the pounding, she felt her heart jump with excitement. Excitement she'd never expected to feel over news like this raced through her body. Pregnant! She was pregnant! She was carrying their child?! Really?! Right now?! One night together and…it was that simple?! "We're…we're gonna have a baby!" she exclaimed.

Though the emotions on his face were mixed she could see how happy he was, she could see how happy he was that she was happy! And it was no wonder! She'd always been the wild card when it came to the topic of children. He'd wanted more children but she'd been skeptical because of her past but now that it was there, staring her in the face there was no doubt about how happy she felt, no matter how unexpected it was. They were pregnant. They were going to have a child of their own!

"A baby…" she breathed happily, unable to form anymore words. A baby they could hold and love, a baby they could raise to-

A baby they couldn't keep? Suddenly the happy thoughts faded as she took in those mixed emotions she'd noted. They were there for a reason. "A-a baby that you've already sold!" she realized, recalling the deal he'd made! She took a step away feeling herself seize up in fear. Her instincts were right. It was bad!

"Yes," he admitted gently. Too gently for what he was confessing to. "Bu-bu-but we can fix that," he insisted. "I'll use all my power, we can fix this."

Fix it! How on earth were they going to fix it. Hades had leverage over him! He had this baby! He'd forced him to create a portal to bring Robin's child here, he could force him to do anything, he was…powerful?

"P-power? What…" she stuttered at his words. No, not words. Just one word. Power. And he'd made a portal. And a human was no good to Hades but a powerful wizard…

The room was spinning as she took a step away from him. She felt like she was going to be sick. No. It hadn't happened again. It wasn't happening again. Not again!

"You're the Dark One again…" she breathed horrified.

She wanted so badly for him to deny it, her worst fear was the first conclusion she'd jumped to…but the look on his face said it all. The nod he gave confirmed it. "No," she whimpered.

"Yes."

And just for good measure, she watched as he reached inside his suit jacket and withdrew something she never wanted to lay eyes on ever again. The dagger. She couldn't bear to look at it. She'd seen it before, she'd seen all this before, she'd been in this very spot before! Months ago at the town line. All he'd said since then, all he'd done…she'd fallen for his lies again. And now she had no words. She should have known that this would happen, leopards couldn't change their spots but she…she'd had a choice, and decided to crawl back in bed with the leopard. She had no one to blame for her hurt but herself. The first time he'd made a fool of her. This time she'd made a fool of herself. She should have crossed that town line when he'd given her the opportunity.

"You see the thing is," he muttered gazing down at the dagger and taking a step away from her. "I love this dagger." She turned to face his, her stomach turning round and round as he gazed at it. But then she heard the sound of metal on metal as he set it aside and turned back to her. "But I also love you! Both are possible." Both were possible? Both were possible! She wasn't hearing this! He didn't really believe what he was actually saying did he! Every step closer to that dagger was a step further from her. He couldn't have both. He'd seen that when he was human, he'd admitted it to her then, how could this have happened?!

"I mean you want me to be a better man…a-and you done that. But if you want me to be a different man? I'm sorry, this is who I am." No. His logic was completely flawed. There was no way to be a "better man", a better person, with that dark curse inside of him! It had nearly killed him in the first place! And he'd just taken it back somehow without a second thought? Thinking it was better?! She'd seen him better than this. This wasn't being a better man. This was a step in the wrong direction. Away from the better man she knew he'd been, away from the man she knew he could be. It was a step away from the man.

"You weren't always-"

"Yes I was," he argued quickly. "Even when I was a coward I craved power, the only difference is now I have it. And I won't let it go. Not again."

She felt herself contort at his declaration. He wouldn't let it go. He wouldn't. "Right…not even for me!" Not for her not for their child, the family they could make, the family they had made!

He didn't deny it.

Her heart was breaking all over again, just like it did the night at the town line. Only this time instead of listening to him bargain with her, make deals to get back to her, he was saying she could go, he didn't want her. After all she'd done? After all he'd put her through?

He didn't deserve her.

And she didn't deserve this.

"Belle there is something you must realize," he said after a moment. He stepped closer and she felt his hands on her arms, she did her best to move away but her legs were numb and if it weren't for the baby in her arms she would have slapped them away. He couldn't do this, he couldn't tell her that she was second best then reach out for her. "Falling in love with the man behind the beast isn't really what happened to you," he insisted. "You fell in love with me because there was a man and a beast. Neither exists without the other."

"No!"

No, he was wrong again! She hadn't fallen for the beast within him, she'd fallen for him, for the man she'd seen hiding behind desperate for something that she knew was more than power. He'd wanted friendship and love and acceptance and she'd been willing to give him that but never to the beast. Oh, his activities had turned her stomach every time he left the castle! She wasn't about to go back to that kind of time. How dare he tell her what she was, what she'd seen in him! How dare he refute what she knew to be true just to hang on to his precious power! Starve the man to keep the beast alive?! She couldn't stand for it anymore.

"No, no, I-I can't condone you being like this. Not again." She turned away and went one shaky leg after another for the door. She couldn't look at him anymore. She needed to get the baby back to Robin, maybe then she could process this monster cluster-

"Yes, you can," his voice called gently behind her. It made her stop, but only because she wasn't sure what she wanted to do with his words. "You just have to choose to. And if you do, we can have what's important, family, happiness…it's your choice."

Her choice?! Her choice for him to be like this and with him or away?! That was no choice at all, didn't he see it! Did he expect her to be alright with this decision, for her to bear his child, sit in his home, and accept that every day instead of going off to work he would be making deals, scheming, ruining the lives of innocent people, possibly even murdering to get what he got? Did he really expect her to just accept all of that? If he did, then he had no idea who she was after all these years. If he thought she could just be alright with it would he really love her? Or was it Lacey he craved. Maybe their entire life together, the little that there was, had been a lie. Or worse, a misunderstanding.

"No," she corrected suddenly feeling afraid, suddenly seeing him with the eyes she hadn't seen him in since the earliest days of her imprisonment. He was worse than a beast, he belonged here in this Underworld, it was the perfect place for a devil like him. But it wasn't the place for her and the child in her arms, it wasn't the place for the child that was growing inside of her. It was a hellish reality in this library, but outside those doors, it was hell, in every sense of the world. She wanted away from him, she wanted to convince him of what he could do without his power, but for now, she'd settle for him getting her to where she belonged.

"No, I'm not making any choices, not now, not until you get me back to our friends," she cried looking down at the baby who was sleeping in her arms, blissfully ignorant of the warzone between them. "And you fix…all this," she said looking him over. She did want what he said, all of what he said, love, happiness, a family…she hadn't even known it until she'd had it for two brief seconds. But she didn't want it with him as he was. She'd wanted it as he had been, when she crossed the line to get back to him. That was fantasy, a fantasy that they'd had a choice in…this was sick.

"Then that's what I shall do, but you'll see I'm right. You'll see…"

She opened her mouth to disagree and snap at him, but with a simple hand gesture, she found herself enveloped in red smoke and his face disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, time for true confessions of a Treatian. I struggled for a long time about what to put in this authors note. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I used it as an excuse to write a long winded tirade against 50% of the Rumbelle couple. But recent conversations have urged me to remove that tirade. Here is the honest truth. I am no longer rooting for Rumbelle. It is sad, but it is true. The show has manipulated their relationship into something ugly and twisted and something that I feel is abusive, and I always promised that when I felt it was abusive, I would stop supporting it. We got there in 6A. I also admit, that while both characters have done wrong, I tend to heap the majority of it on one particular character. That has not changed, what has changed is my realization of how much words can hurt. I struggle everytime someone insults my favorite character because I relate to that character and feel so much for them. Others relate to the other character and my bad mouthing their favorite makes me no different, no better, than it makes them. We do not win by tearing others down and I refuse to publicly hurt others with my words over a stupid television show. So, I am challenging myself to be as neutral as possible in my A/N's. If someone really wants to know my feelings they can contact me in private and we can discuss it like civilized human beings. But if not, then this is the last you will hear on the subject of whose side I am actually on.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	21. A Game of Chess

When the smoke cleared she found herself in the middle of nowhere. Literally. There were trees, dead winter trees, every which way that she looked, ahead of her some distance she could make out a dirt road, and hazy fog rising in the air. That smell of sulfur was just as overwhelming as it had once been. Rumple was nowhere to be seen. Which was good. Or bad. Or…or…

Suddenly she felt dizzy, her stomach gave an unsettling lurch and she lunged with the baby in her arms, as the urge to vomit became uncontrollable. She did manage to set the child aside on a stump just before she emptied the contents of her stomach behind one of the trees and lifted her hand to deal with the tears in her eyes. Her hand was shaking.

Odd. It was all so odd. She knew what this was. Traveling by portal or magic wasn't likely to cause upset stomach, not with her. She'd never even been seasick as a child! She was pregnant. She was going to be a mother! And her husband, the father of their child…

"Oh!" she squeaked out turning away from the mess that she'd made. It was because of the mess that he'd made, the mess he'd made her a player in! He'd sold their baby! And yes, she'd be willing to understand that it happened a long time ago before she came around but the last part she wasn't willing to overlook. He was the Dark One again. Why?! Why would he do this?! He'd been human, a hero! She'd seen him against Merida and Emma and even when he'd sent her away! That was the real him, the very human man that had been hiding behind the beast ever since they'd met! And he'd just given it all up to get the beast back?! They'd finally had a real chance…and he'd forfeit it.

He was wrong about her, she hadn't fallen for that monster, every step she'd ever taken in the castle had been to get him to move away from it. Talking to him about his son, kissing him so he'd be free, she'd been disgusted in his hunt for Robin Hood, but rejoiced when he'd let him go! She hadn't fallen for the Dark One…she'd fallen for Rumpelstiltskin. But how much more abuse could she take. The lying…it was unbearable! Every time she turned her back she found that he'd lied. And not just about his past! She was reasonable, she understood he couldn't change what had been done, no matter how much some of his activities shocked her. What she couldn't handle were the secrets that he kept from her in their day to day life. Like the fact that he was the Dark One again!

When had that happened?! Was he the Dark One when she'd gone back to him? When he'd let her go? How long had he kept that from her?! With one conversation he'd changed her life again. And their child…

He'd told her the truth when she'd met him, but that was little consolation at the moment. All at once she couldn't help but think of her thoughts when the Spell of Shattered Sight had been cast. For so long she'd told herself those thoughts had no bearing, but deep down she'd always known that there was a grain of truth to them. But now she knew she'd been wrong. All this time she'd thought that magic was the mistress that she was fighting against but now, after what he'd said and how he'd acted…magic wasn't the mistress. She was. Magic was his first love. His true love. And she was the mistress begging him to leave his wife and start a life with her all the while he told her just to accept being his mistress. She felt pathetic. And used.

Fine, he craved power, she could accept that he craved power, but just because people had cravings didn't always mean they should have them. As a child, she'd craved sweets, and when she'd eaten an entire jar and found herself sick to her stomach in bed, she'd learned that awful lesson. Lacey had craved men, but that didn't mean she should have been sleeping with a different one each night, other's craved alcohol, but that didn't mean that they went out and indulged to the point of drunkenness every night! That didn't leave them better people! And craving power never left him a better person either. It had always left him worse. Did he forget how he'd been without the power? Yes, he'd been scared, but she'd never been more proud of him than when he'd saved her from Merida or bested Emma in her homemade dungeon. He'd had a different power then, a power that didn't come with magic and made him a good person. How could he have forgotten all of that?

And what had he gained in getting back his power now? The way she saw it, he'd ruined everything, ruined what could have been good. They could have had love and happiness and family without his power. But now?!

He'd always wanted another child, they'd spoken of it barely a week after they were married! She chuckled at the memory of telling him that they'd have a child "when the time was right", and then she cried. She'd never really wanted children until now. Why would he want another child if he knew someone would claim it? Why would he put her through this? Why was this happening all over again?! Why hadn't she just taken the car, ignored her heart, and gone to New York City when she had the chance. She'd taken a chance and he'd hurt her, again. What hope was there for them now?! But with a baby…now she was tied to him forever. What would their futures look like? What would their child's future look like?

Next to her, the sound of the baby sneezing, then cooing urged her to pick her head up out of her hands. She sniffled and did her best to paint a smile on her face as she picked the infant up. "Hey, hey," she choked holding her in her arms. "It's okay, it's okay."

She was very sure that it wasn't okay. Nothing in her life right now was okay! But this baby…she was innocent, she had no part in their drama, all she needed was to get back to her father and be safe from her mother.

Despite the ache in her feet and legs she stood up and looked around again. Rumple was a lot of things, but he wasn't careless and he certainly wasn't frivolous not with her life and she was certain not with the life of their child. She'd demanded that he get her back to their friends and this was where he'd delivered her. There had to be a reason.

"He-hello!" she called out looking around. "Is anybody there?!" Nothing but silence greeted her. Not even a bird flew from the trees.

She didn't like this, she didn't like it one bit! This forest made her shiver almost as much as the people in this version of Storybrooke did. It was probably better for them to be on the road instead of in here. With care she made her way out of the tangle of trees and finally onto the road. Now what? Left? Right? Suddenly it dawned on her just how much trouble she'd gotten into. There was no sun for her to judge east or west, no stars to point her north or south. She had no way of knowing which direction town was in and what would happen if she came to the town line in this place.

"Alright…" she sighed looking around and thinking through her options. She had none. All there was to do was pick a direction and see where it took her. She glanced down at the child in her arms who was beginning to squirm at being so still. As if on cue she freed one tiny fist from her blanket and stretched her fingers out in a direction. Right. Well…her father was Robin Hood, and if she was likely to run into any friend out here in the woods it was him. Right was as good a guess as any. "If you say so…good choice," she whispered before turning and heading right down the path.

Onward they walked. Or she walked, keeping her eyes open for any sign of danger or life somewhere on the path. It was easy to do when she realized what she'd start thinking about if she wasn't thinking about next steps or the baby. She was awake now, and she had a feeling that she knew why. It was time. She wasn't sure exactly how long they had been here but it had been more than an hour, which meant that it was at least an hour past the time that she should have been fed. The baby was hungry, she was cold and tired and lost and confused…but as long as she had this small bundle she couldn't allow herself to crumple somewhere and dry up out of fear. She had to keep moving.

"It's okay, baby," she eased when she began to squeal. "Don't cry, we'll find them!" She kissed the top of the baby's forehead but had to admit that she wasn't sure if she was assuring herself or if she was assuring the baby that-

"Belle! Belle is that you?!" her heart began to race for an entirely different reason than it had before. It was the voice of Robin Hood.

She took a couple of steps forward as if to run but it was difficult with the baby in her arms and…it wasn't necessary. From out of the red hazy fog that seemed to engulf them two bodies appeared, two bodies she knew quite well. Regina and Robin Hood.

"You have her!" Robin gasped sprinting toward the pair of them.

"Hey, yeah," she breathed happily handing the child over. "Yeah, she's fine!" she assured the nervous father.

"Hey, hey, are you okay? Daddy's got you, daddy's got you." She felt a smile manage to tug at the corner of her mouth at the reunion, but only for a second before the walls she was using to keep her current situation at bay began to weaken and spring leaks at the image. Her father had her. Would Rumple take care of their own child this way? Who would pay for it if he did?

"Thank you?" Robin breathed, glancing up at her from over the bundle with tears in her eyes. Later. She had to remind herself once more to live in this moment and-

"Yes…thank you," her head snapped around at the voice and she saw Zelena emerge from the woods, walking as if nothing was wrong towards them. No! She'd found them! Even after all this? And Robin and Regina…they weren't moving to keep away from her? "Wait? What are you doing here?" she questioned.

"Helping them," the witch responded. Helping…they'd been working together?! They were working with Zelena, the woman she'd been trying so hard to keep away from the baby! Didn't they realize what Zelena had tried to do in Storybrooke?! "But…she stole your baby!"

"My baby!" Zelena corrected. "Which was stolen from me. Now I'm helping."

"It's alright, Belle…she won't hurt anyone," Regina stated gently, too gently.

"But…" This was the Wicked Witch of the West! Had they all forgotten that? Had they all forgotten the torment that she'd placed them all under for a year of their lives, now she was suddenly helping?!

The baby's screams suddenly cut through the silence that accompanied this very cold day in hell. Her instinct was to take the child away from Robin, to hold her and rock her in the way that she knew how, the way that Robin couldn't know yet because he hadn't spent enough time with her but she had to let him do it. It wasn't as if he'd never had a child before and-

"I've got a bottle," Zelena inserted into the noise, holding in her hand none other than the red capped bottle that she'd given her only hours ago. Honestly, she had no idea how it had survived their trip intact…but she begrudgingly had to admit to herself that Zelena's idea might have been the right idea. She was hours past her feeding. "Give her to me," Zelena suggested.

She nearly baulked at the idea. No. Absolutely not! Zelena might have been right about a lot of things but there was no possible way they were turning that baby over to her! Were they?

"No," Robin refused, echoing her thoughts and holding his hand out. "Give it to me, I'll do it!"

"I don't have any magic here Robin, the worst thing that can happen is some mother daughter bonding. It's alright there's nothing nefarious in feeding." Wasn't there? If that was true then why did just the sight of Zelena opening her arms for the child give her goosebumps? She didn't trust Zelena. She never had and she doubted that she ever would.

"Okay. fine," Robin agreed despite her own instincts. "Soon as she's done you'll hand her back!"

Zelena didn't hesitate, she stepped forward and took the child from him without a moment of hesitation. She watched carefully as she settled the child in her arms and offered the baby her bottle, the job that was usually hers. She took to it immediately. All eyes were on the pair, she knew why. They didn't exactly trust Zelena either. Not even as she rocked her and called her "my little sweet pea". It was all very maternal, more so than she would ever have thought someone like Zelena was capable of. But it wasn't her maternal side that they always doubted. It was something far darker.

It took less than a minute, typical of the little girl, she'd learned, but eventually the baby settled off back into sleep with her treat and Zelena handed the bottle over to Robin. "Okay, that's it, she's done, hand her back!" Robin insisted.

Zelena did no such thing. And there wasn't a nerve in her body that registered the shock of it. Instead, she watched as the witch examined her fingers and she saw sparks of green coming off the tips. She stayed clear, despite the fact that once more she wanted to throw herself forward and remove the baby from her arms as she had in Storybrooke. This was bad.

"Now, Zelena!" Regina ordered as if she was talking to a child instead of a mother.

For a moment she was certain Regina had gotten through to her on some level. She let out her breath as the sparks on her fingers died and she held her baby closer. But then Zelena looked up at them with dewy eyes that were somehow crystal clear to her. She knew this had been the wrong choice.

"No, sis," Zelena cried. "Not now, not ever!"

She moved to take the child from her as she had hours ago but the moment she and even Robin stepped forward, Zelena tossed something green at them, a flash of magic.

Her child! She managed to put a hand up to shield her stomach from the onslaught of the danger, but was blasted back by the magic and fell hard on the ground on her side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I wanted to highlight a couple different things from this chapter. First of all, I hope that I bridged the gap well enough. If you are thinking of the series then the last we saw of Belle she was standing in the library, and after the break, she came back and was alone in the forest. I always thought that it was odd she went there, not to mention a huge coincidence that she just happens to be alone in a forest and finds Regina and Robin. I hadn't remembered she'd told Rumple he'd get her back to her friends until I was transcribing the scene and I used it as an excuse to send her there. I hope that was a decent explanation. Also, this chapter also answers a popular fan question, or at least acknowledges it, this A/N answers it. There was a chapter in MT&U, I believe, where Belle and Rumple talk about the possibility of having a second child. After 5B I got lots of questions asking if I was taking the chapter down or editing it. My response? Nope. There was no need. And not just because I'm biased and its one of my favorite chapters, but because I thought they made it very clear that Rumple believed he was safe from the deal ever rearing its ugly head. I think they actually used those words in the last scene. The Atlantean was dead, there would be no one to claim the child, and he wasn't worried about Hades taking over the contract. Ergo, that chapter and conversation are perfectly safe and Rumple will explain that in one of the chapters for 5x17.
> 
> A big thank you is going out to Deweymay for your awesome comments on the last chapter. To reassure some of you, I think this chapter is the worst of it. A few of you asked if this fiction was going to become a Rumple bash and I told you that it wouldn't but I also wouldn't lie and have Belle think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread when she's really angry at him. To not have a chapter like this was not true t the character and I always chose true over not true. To me, I also always thought that it was never really about Rumpelstiltskin. I mean...it is...but it isn't. I felt that she was taking her anger out for herself on him. I think she's the one she's angry at because she knows that he didn't drag her into this, she dragged herself. She was gone, she was home free to go to New York and be away from it all and instead she turned around when she knew better. I think she blames herself for her predicament, she just doesn't want to admit it. That's one of her flaws. She's still angry from here on, as the show supports, but I think this chapter is about as bad as it's going to get. I hope it doesn't discourage you. Peace and Happy Reading.


	22. Familial Bonds

"Belle? Belle, wake up! Belle, are you alright?"

Regina's voice was distant at first, echoing through her mind like she was in a dream, which was exactly where she thought she was, a dream! Or maybe it was a nightmare, it was the only excuse for what she'd experienced over the last few hours. The floor turning into a portal, Zelena as Mother Superior, Rumple the Dark One…it was a dream! A horrible, senseless, illogical dream! A dream that just so happened to smell like sulfur?

Her eyes snapped open the moment she realized that she was smelling something she shouldn't have been smelling. She was on the ground, wet and cold ground. Regina hung over her looking down, her hand purple. Healing spell…was she…was her baby?!

Immediately she sat up, her hand resting on her stomach as she looked down at herself. "The baby! Are we alright?!"

Regina looked her over skeptically. "Of course you are," she inserted. "You've had worse than a bash to the head. The baby on the other hand-"

"What's wrong?!" she demanded, the fingers over her coat tightening.

Now Regina looked at her like she was crazy. "Zelena has her," she stated looking concerned. "Belle, do you remember where you are?"

"No, it's just…" The fingers at her belly untightened, and she let out a breath of air. Regina didn't know, not about her own baby. She'd thought she was talking about Robin's daughter. She thought she was confused after a bash to the head, probably because she'd landed wrong. Of course, she didn't really know any better, but as far as she knew there was nothing to worry about for her child if she'd hit her head, certainly not if Regina had healed it as she suspected. And she could ask if any damage had been done to her stomach, but it seemed unlikely considering she'd been curled onto her side and wasn't in any pain. Then again she could also outright ask Regina to check for her, but…

The words died before they were ever even syllables. There was no rhyme or reason, but for now, she didn't particularly want anyone to know she was pregnant.

"We're in the Underworld," she said answering Regina's question. "Zelena took the baby and…what happened?!" she asked finally noticing that it was dark out. It hadn't been a few seconds ago. Hours?

"From what I can tell? Stunning spell and good aim," Regina answered looking unconcerned once more. "It wasn't powerful enough to do serious damage but the blast knocked us all out."

"All of us? Where's Robin?"

Regina looked over her shoulder and looking past she saw Robin, standing some distance away from them on the ground with his bow in his hand. As if he sensed their eyes he stood up and walked back to them, a grimace on his face. "They're gone," he informed them as they rose to their feet once more. "Tracks lead off into the woods, they're hours from here by now. I should have never trusted her! I should never have handed that baby over to her, it was as good as asking for trouble!"

"The fault is just as much my own as it is yours, I told you it was safe," Regina refuted.

"You're not her father."

"That doesn't mean I don't care about her or her father," Regina snapped, glaring at him. It made her throat tighten. Had they been in the Enchanted Forest a year ago this sight wouldn't have been uncommon, but ever since they'd arrived back at Storybrooke she had yet to really see them argue like that and she knew now that it didn't come from opposing points of view. It was a lovers quarrel. They always had been. What would she have given to have lovers quarrels of her own again? Ones that didn't involve dark magic and danger? What would she give to argue over who's turn it was to wash the dishes?! "And anyway," Regina continued, "we had no reason to think her magic was working any better than my own was when we first arrived. She clearly hadn't healed herself! It was an honest mistake, and we need to correct it. We will. But panicking won't help us get her back. She can't have gone far with an injury like that, summoning the strength for half a stunning spell would mean she can't heal herself. She'll be close by; we just have to find her-"

"Preferably before Hades does," she inserted quickly, suddenly remembering what she'd said when they'd first arrived. She hadn't believed her at first of course but then when Rumple said Hades wanted the child…what if Zelena's tale wasn't a lie? They had to know.

"Did you just say Hades?" Regina questioned.

She nodded. "Zelena thought that Hades brought the baby here, she said so when we first arrived.

"Hades?" Robin questioned. "What on earth would he want with our daughter?"

She shook her head. "She wouldn't say. I thought she was lying at the time, trying to trick me into giving her back, so I didn't stop to ask questions, she was injured and I took her away but…at the library I ran into Rumpelstiltskin…he confirmed it. Hades made Rumple open a portal that brought the baby here, but because Zelena was trying to steal her and because I was trying to save her it backfired. All three of us got pulled through. All she said was that she could protect her from Hades herself. I didn't believe her."

"Hades _made_ Rumple open the portal?" Regina balked. "How on earth did he get him to do that?"

She felt her body go cold. Why hadn't she seen his darkness sooner, the way Regina did? Why did she always fall for his lies and then blame herself for being suspicious when there was a right to be suspicious?! She was an idiot. She'd practically let this happen.

"Belle?" Regina pressed.

She sighed and shook her head. "Does it matter?" she questioned, dismissing the allegations to focus on the problem. "We're all here, Zelena is out there somewhere with the baby, and Hades is after one or both of them. We need to find Zelena."

"She's gone off into the woods, away from town…I may not know a lot but something gives me the feeling she's not exactly the outdoors type, without magic she won't last two minutes out there!" Robin commented.

That was disturbing. It was getting awfully cold for hell. And Zelena had given Robin the formula back. Eventually she'd get hungry and cold. And if Zelena's magic wasn't what she thought that it was…how long until she did something she'd regret? How long until her daughter paid for her actions?

"Can't you use a locating spell? Use your blood to find her?"

"With what ingredients? Grass and stones?"

"It was just a suggestion. Can't you think of anything?!"

"Zelena is impulsive and irritating, but she's hardly stupid. She had a plan, she always has a plan. We just have to think. Where would she go?"

Where would she go? She remembered asking Rumple that same question about Regina long ago, before they'd gone back to the Enchanted Forest when things were good between them. She remembered his words too. What were the chances the two sisters were more alike than they were different.

"She'll go where she feels safe and comfortable," she answered for them. They both paused and looked at her as though they'd forgotten she was there in the first place. "This place mirrors Storybrooke right? Well, where would she go in Storybrooke? Where would she feel safe? In control?"

"I know where she is," Regina breathed a moment later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I know this chapter is abnormally short. I initially meant for it to be combined with the next chapter but in the end the next chapter got too long and I felt that I had to break the two up. Each chapter had it's own conversation, own plot, own effect...it seemed like a good choice to make in the end. And I added a few flourishes. There was a lot to explain, clearly it took them several hours to locate Zelena, so I got to show that, not to mention some old-fashioned OQ bickering. Because if I can't show Rumbelle bickering, I've gotta show someone. Either way, I hope despite its shortness, you'll think it came out well.
> 
> Thank you Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter. They are always appreciated and I love that I can always count on you for wonderful encouraging words! Peace and Happy Reading!


	23. A Mother's Perspective

Regina didn't tell them where they were going, where Zelena had gone, but then she also didn't have to. Unlike Zelena, it was apparent that Regina had somehow gotten the hang of using magic down here, just as Rumple apparently had. One moment they were standing in the dark, in the middle of the forest, and the next minute…

They were standing in the dark...in the middle of the forest.

When the purple smoke that had transported them vanished she spun around and looked for something, anything that told her the significance of this random spot in the woods. But she couldn't figure it out.

"Regina? Where are we?"

"Not where I wanted to be…" she growled looking around before finally stalking off into the woods.

"Regina!" Robin cried as they hurried after her. It only took a few footsteps for the forest to give way to another dirt road. A clearing. She hadn't been able to see it in the dark through the trees, but now standing on the road she could see the plot of land before her. And she could follow the road to-

"The farm house," Robin declared looking up at it.

"The only place she ever lived in Storybrooke that she chose. There's nowhere else that I can think she'd go."

"So why are we down here and she's up there?" she questioned looking up at the farm house. If Regina meant to bring them to the farm house then why had they ended up in the middle of the forest? It wasn't like when they were in the Enchanted Forest and Regina was worried about her sister sensing her magic! Regina had been genuinely upset about not showing up in the right place so it wasn't on purpose.

Before her eyes, she watched as Regina took an arrow from Robins quiver and picked up a rock. She carefully pricked her finger and smeared a bit of blood on the stone before tossing it at the house and-

It rebounded and a shimmer like if a stone was thrown into a pond, echoed in the form of a bubble around the entire property. "Protection spell," she observed aloud.

"And a weak one at that, but still targeted at the three of us," Regina answered with a smile. Without a moment of hesitation she stepped up to the place the spell touched and raised her hands. At first red light glowed from them, then it turned an odd greyish green color, before the entire barrier shimmied and rippled again then began to burn away in the night as if Regina had thrown acid onto it. "That was almost too easy…she's weaker down here than I thought," Regina muttered taking strides toward the farmhouse once more.

She and Robin followed after her as they hiked up the dirt road to get to the farmhouse. They were on a mission. The first thing she noticed once they were closer was that Regina had been right, the house wasn't empty, as if the protection barrier hadn't given that away already. True, the sky was a terrifying hazy shade of red, as if a fire had been set somewhere just behind the house, but there was also a glow coming from one of the windows what was a shade of orange and danced inconsistently. She recognized it right away from her days in the Enchanted Forest as a fire. She'd lit a fire in the fireplace for warmth. And she'd used a stunning spell and she'd set a protection spell. Her magic was weak, according to Regina, but that didn't mean that it was entirely useless.

"How is your magic working while Zelena's is erratic?" she questioned as they walked. Her magic was working completely wasn't it?

"It took a few days, but eventually I regained control again. Zelena clearly hasn't," she answered without actually answering her question. She opened her mouth to ask her to elaborate a bit, but before she could get a word out Regina called out "Zelena!" in a voice loud enough to wake the dead, which she realized was an actual possibility down here.

"Are you in there?!" Robin screamed after her.

"Look, look!" she pointed out. There was movement. Only a bit of it but she caught it out of the corner of her eye. One of the curtains had moved, as if someone who had been holding it back had just dropped it into place. The house might have seemed uninhabited, or like it's resident was unaware they were there, but she was certain now. Zelena was inside and she knew they had come.

"Zelena enough!" Robin yelled. "It is not safe for you or our child out here!"

The house stayed silent in response. The window continued to glow but there was no more movement from the curtain. She was starting to fear that they would actually have to go inside. That was something she was sure no one wanted. Her magic might be a bit touchy at the moment, but Regina's wasn't and she didn't want it to turn into a fight that might harm them or the baby. No one wanted that.

"Zelena!" Regina shouted, nearing the steps.

"Zelena!" she shouted herself. If she managed to hang on to that baby she would never forgive herself. She knew that technically none of this was her fault and no one would blame her for this, it was Zelena after all, but she would blame herself. She'd taken responsibility for those children since they'd been left in Storybrooke, she should have known something was going on when the tornado touched down. She should have-

Suddenly the door to the farm house opened. "I'm right here…" Zelena answered, coming slowly out of the shadows. Her voice was anything but fierce. In fact she sounded like she'd been crying. Frankly, she sounded like a small child that had stolen money for the ice cream truck and run away from her parents. That was a change from what they'd seen a few hours ago. "It's all my fault," the witch cried descending the steps. "I can't protect her, not down here, not from him!"

"Him". Hades. She certainly looked scared enough but the truth was hard to swallow, Hades had wanted Zelena's baby. But she still didn't understand why! What ever would he want the baby for?! What did he want to do with her or with Zelena?!

"You need to tell us exactly what happened with you and Hades!" Robin demanded of her.

"He wants to use her, for a spell, for my time travel spell," she answered. "He's got the same thirst for vengeance I do! He had love in his heart, because of me it's gone."

"She's the ingredient," Regina realized in a low voice, looking back and forth between Zelena and Robin. "A symbol of innocence." Regina seemed to understand, but she was still scratching her head. Hades wanting the child for the time travel spell, that part was clear. But the bit about Hades having love in his heart and Zelena taking it away…that was hardly telling them everything. In fact the way she was saying it, it almost sounded like…like…like they were in love!

"Take her!" Zelena squeaked out looking her daughter over tearfully.

"What?" Robin questioned.

"Take her," Zelena begged the two of them again but this time was sorry tears. "You can protect her! I can't! My magic is unpredictable. I don't care if you never let me see her again, but you have to save her Regina, please! It's more important than what happens to me."

She never, not in one million lifetimes, thought she'd see the day that she'd feel sorry for Zelena. But the words that her father had told her in the flower shop not long ago came back to her clear as crystal. _"_ _When you have a child you do what it takes to protect them, even if it means sacrificing yourself and the things you believe along the way."_ Zelena cared about the baby. Deeply cared, the way a parent was supposed to care for a child. With every breath of her body. If giving her up right this moment, if never seeing her again, was the cost to keep her safe and away from Hades, if her own life was the cost…she suddenly knew that Zelena would pay it in a heartbeat. Fortunately, she knew others who were willing to pay costs like that as well.

"We'll do everything we can to protect her," Regina promised.

Zelena's face contorted at the words and she looked down at the child so regretfully that for the smallest of moments she wanted to step forward and offer to stay with her, to find a way to stop all this so everyone could win. But then her sense kicked in and a feeling in her belly she'd never had before did too as her hands found a place just below her belly button. Rumple. The last time that she'd trusted him, every time she'd trusted him for that matter, she'd been burned. Zelena was a different person with this child, but she shouldn't be any different to them. She'd told the truth, but it was no reason to trust her, not yet.

"Good-bye, Little One! Mummy has to let you go," Zelena cried before bending down and kissing the child's cheek. She sobbed for a minute, so bad that her shoulders shook and she couldn't tell if she was upset or scared or both, then she handed the baby over to Robin, turned, and walked back into her farmhouse, leaving them all confused, sad, and at a complete loss for words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so here is what I hinted at earlier, the thing in this episode that makes absolutely no sense, the thing A&E do so often that it really makes me want to throw things at them because it is such poor story writing a 3rd grader could do better. They go down rabbit holes all the time for no reason whatsoever and then just abandon them! "Here, Hades wants the baby to make a time travel spell because he used to have love in his heart and I took it away." What the heck is that?! First of all, how do you know that?! It's kind of a big leap since the last time you saw him, isn't it?! So you just assume that he wants your baby so he can sacrifice her, the child of his true love, to go back in time for an undisclosed reason. Wow, reaching! Second of all, the reaction of others. This theory never comes up again outside of this episode. NEVER! Now, normally, I'm itching for a little trial and error, for things to not happen the way they think they will. We all knew Hades didn't want the kid for a time travel spell, but they didn't. I kept waiting for them to check it off the list and they never did! They kept saying "what is Hades after" and I kept shrieking "Hello, Zelena gave you a lead, a wrong lead, but a lead, all the same, are you really not going to do anything about it?!" This line, this one stupid, obviously not thought through line, made the next couple of chapters really difficult. Every chapter from here to 5x17, frankly, was focused on cleaning up their mess. So, I hope that going on from here I do a halfway decent job with the clean-up and don't let you down. Honestly, I think the best I can hope for with these next few chapters is just "you tried".
> 
> Big thank yous to Deweymay for her comments on the last chapter and unending faithfulness! Thank you for reading, friend! Your comments are wonderful. They've been wonderful and therapeutic and eye-opening all at once. It's a good reminder of why so many of us Rumbellers just need to get together and give each other a big hug! Okay, with that...on to the crazy chapters of clean-up. Will we survive? I hope so. Reminder, there is a chapter tomorrow! Peace and Happy Reading!


	24. Catching Up on What's Down

Zelena's farewell to her child had been heartfelt, and clearly, it tore her in two. It had left all of them at a loss for words as they stared at the door after her…or maybe it just left them concerned she'd come back. No matter the reason, they stood there in silence, watching the door, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, all that happened, was a small baby wriggling in her father's arms making cooing sounds. It broke the spell of silence and she watched as Regina stepped up closer to Robin to examine her. "Is she alright?" she asked gently.

"Fine, it seems," she heard Robin reply. "Not a scratch."

She meandered over to the three of them and observed the child from the side. Robin's remark wasn't entirely true. On the child's cheek she could see something, a small red blemish that might have been a scratch or a bruise…it was impossible to tell in the darkness. But she knew she hadn't had it before today. Still, a scratch on a child was a small thing and as she watched the baby snuggle closer to her father she knew that she wasn't in any kind of pain and decided it wasn't putting her in any kind of immediate danger. Not like Hades and this entire world certainly would.

"We should go," she urged. "We should find shelter, figure out what to do now that we know Hades is hunting her."

"We've already got a place set up," Regina informed her. "We've been staying at Mary Margaret's apartment with the entire Charming squad and their dead tag along."

"Killian?" she questioned looking her over. "You found him?!"

Regina nodded. "Days ago."

"Days ago…why haven't you returned to Storybrooke? All this could have been avoided!"

"Not all of it," Robin inserted. "It sounds like Hades wanting this child has nothing to do with why we're here. Should we press her?" he questioned looking over at Regina.

Regina looked up at the door that Zelena had disappeared through and seemed to consider his suggestion for a moment before she shook her head. "No. We'll give her the night, come back and ask her about it all later now that we know right where to find her. Belle's right, we should get back to the apartment."

Without a further word or gesture, she felt magic rise up around her in a great colorless cloud and when it cleared light spilled in around her and floorboards creaked under their weight. Mary Margaret's apartment. After a moment for their eyes to adjust she spied "the Charming squad" standing by the window talking amongst themselves. Killian was with them.

"Belle!" Mary Margaret breathed striding over and hugging her tight. "I didn't believe it when they said you were here!"

"I'm uh…I'm here," responded, not quite sure what to say to that. When she pulled away she looked over her shoulder and smiled at David. Emma she avoided eye contact with, for obvious reasons. She wasn't angry with her exactly, but she'd been the one to ask Rumple to come to the Underworld with him, something she'd known was entirely uncharacteristic of him. Now she had a feeling that it wasn't out of heroic measure or wanting to do the right thing. She'd needed his blood to open the portal, but she had a feeling she'd known he was the Dark One all along. The man next to her on the other hand…

"Killian," she greeted with a smirk.

"Belle," he responded shifting his eyes. "Fancy meeting you down here."

"Fancy meeting you at all," she countered. He was dead after all. She'd admit it, she'd never really shed many tears for him, they'd never really been "friends" by any normal definition, but she had grown used to him in her life. When it came to the Captain these days she was simply indifferent.

"Yes, well…can't keep a good man down and all that…"

She wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to make of his comment, so she ignored it and looked around. "Where's Henry?"

"Upstairs," David answered. "He's had a long day so he went upstairs to nap."

"Or brood," Regina inserted stepping forward and taking a seat at the table. "He's becoming a teenager, it seems like he spends half his time sulking these days."

 _Like grandfather, like grandson_ , she couldn't help but think. But she couldn't think about that. Not now, not when they clearly had other problems. Hades wanted the baby. Killian had been retrieved but they clearly hadn't made any efforts to get back to their world. Henry was having long days in hell and brooding. Clearly there were other things to discuss.

"Where did you find her?" Emma asked from the window.

"Zelena," Robin answered. "She turned her over."

"Turned her over? Just like that?" Killian inquired with obvious disbelief.

"Not exactly," Regina answered. "Her magic is on the fritz, kind of like mine was when we got here. Zelena…she was worried, so she turned her over to Robin, tears and all."

"Tears?! That's hardly a trait of the wicked!"

"It was the most emotion I've ever seen her display," she added. "When we first came here, she told me Hades had wanted to kidnap the baby, but I didn't believe her. After tonight…I'm convinced."

"That speaks volumes," Killian agreed.

"I'm not," Regina muttered. "Something about her story doesn't make sense."

"You don't think Hades wants to use her for a time travel spell?" Robin inquired.

"Why would he?" Regina answered. "He's the Lord of the Underworld, he's not exactly hard up for ingredients. Why kidnap your child when he could take another of his flock all too easily?"

"Power," she suggested. "That's why Zelena wanted Neal."

"Partially," Regina corrected. "She wanted Neal because he was a product of true love. Zelena and Robin-"

"We're hardly that," Robin quickly inserted. "I can barely stand to be in the same room as her for too long."

"Well perhaps because she's the child of the witch he assumes that she's powerful. Or perhaps he doesn't know that Robin and Zelena weren't true love," Killian suggested.

"Either way," Emma inserted. "It sounds like now we're keeping her safe from Hades and Zelena."

"And the Underworld in general-"

"All while trying to save ourselves…sounds like fun, in a morbid kind of way," David concluded sadly. "So…how's Storybrooke?" David asked suddenly turning to her as he took a seat at the table as well. "News of normalcy would be a wonderful distraction from all this."

"Oh…" The question sounded a little absurd to her. Wasn't there a lot more to be focusing on than what was happening in the real world? Or the Underworld as it was? "Well it's…it's fine. Roland is with the Merry Men in the Forest," she stated first, realizing that was probably of more importance than anything.

"He's supposed to be with the nuns," Robin answered after a quiet pause.

"He was, but after the danger passed he was a handful. I couldn't take him but Little John and the rest of the group agreed to. It seemed like a perfect solution for everything and he seemed happy with it…I hope I didn't misstep."

"No," Robin inserted. "No, of course not. I trust your judgement. And I trust the men will keep him safe."

"Arthur was causing problems but we managed to break the power that the Sands of Avalon had over the people of Camelot so…that's something good, but hardly normal."

"Normal for us," David commented.

"I thought there was no cure for that," Regina responded pulling a seat out for Robin to sit at.

"There's not. It's ah…complicated. But…it's done so hopefully they aren't an issue anymore. What's been happening here?! Why haven't you returned to Storybrooke if you found Killian?"

"It's…complicated," Regina offered. But the moment Robin sat down, the child in his arms began to gurgle and then squeal. She'd be hungry. And she wouldn't like not standing if she was in someone's arms.

"Oh, she prefers to be moving when someone is holding her," she suggested. "And she's probably hungry. There should be enough formula left for her in the bottle for today. What we'll do tomorrow…"

"If we can get oatmeal and toast down here I'm sure someone has formula somewhere," David stated quickly, before the concerned look on Robin's face grew. With a sigh he took her suggestion seriously and stood up, rocking and bouncing her in his arms until she quieted. That was when Regina stepped forward with the bottle. When she'd taken it or got it she didn't know, all she cared about was that the baby had something to eat.

"He's been worried about her," Mary Margaret whispered beside her as the pair meandered into the kitchen and fussed over each other. Killian and Emma sat down where they'd once been. "He's missed Roland too of course, but I think he feels bad that he hasn't been around more in her first days.

"Why haven't you all gone back yet?" she questioned quietly. "If you have Killian…"

"That's just the thing. We don't have Killian."

"The plan was to come down here and have Emma split her heart to bring him back to life, the same way that Mary Margaret did after she cast the curse but…when we tried a couple days ago Regina couldn't remove the heart."

Regina couldn't remove the heart? How? That was practically Regina's former profession! Wasn't that why she'd had an entire room in her castle dedicated to hearts? "Why not?"

"Because we can't leave," Mary Margaret answered. "This place…it's not exactly hell as we know it, more like a…purgatory of some kind. People stay here until they work through their problems and move on either to a better place or…a not so better place. Since we got here, we've been helping people move on, friends and family…I guess Hades didn't like that."

"Helping people move on? You've actually managed to get people out of this place?"

"Aye," Killian answered. "Many."

"It started with Regina's father," Emma explained. "She helped him cross over to a better place, then Mom's friend Hercules of all people-"

"Hercules?! The Hercules?!"

"One in the same," Killian suggested. "Along with a frightened young lass and then…my brother."

She did her best to make sure that her jaw didn't drop. Regina's father was one thing but Killians brother? He'd had a brother? Who was dead now? How had that happened? And why did he look so sad. "I'm…I'm…I'm sorry…for your loss."

"It was a loss I felt decades ago, love. The important thing is that we've noticed a trend. Setting these people free…it weakens Hades."

"It weakens him? How?"

"It's difficult to explain, but it does…excuse me."

She wasn't quite sure how to describe it, perhaps because it was more emotion than she'd ever heard from the pirate or perhaps because emotion from the likes of Killian seemed odd to her. But if she had to pretend it wasn't Killian, she knew exactly what she'd heard. Put simply, he was choked up. Thinking of his brother had saddened him. Clearly, his death happening years ago had not minimized the effect of seeing him, or sending him further to his grave. She sighed as she turned back to the two remaining Charmings after Emma went after him.

"So…is that how we defeat Hades? We save a few more souls and-"

"It's not always that simple," Mary Margaret answered. "And it comes at a cost."

"There's a graveyard here," David went on. "A place where all the dead have their names written. Tipped over is a good sign, a crack is a bad sign, but no matter which you can't leave this place if you have your name written on a tombstone. In revenge for us taking away from his…Underbrooke, he wrote three of our names on the tombs. Emma, Regina, and Snow," he informed her staring at his wife with sad and concerned eyes.

Their names were on the tombs. They couldn't leave this place this…Underbrooke as David had called it. No wonder they were delayed. This wasn't just a search and rescue mission for Killian anymore. Now they were trying to save themselves as well. How awful! She couldn't imagine what they were going through, with Neal back home and them here. They'd come down to help one of their children. Now there was a very real possibility that Snow would never seen her son again. And after all she'd gone through to keep him safe…

"But we won't stop fighting, Snow," David insisted. "I vow that I will get you home to our son. Soon it won't just be your voice he hears, you'll hold him in your arms too."

"If he even heard our voice…"

"Oh!" They all glanced over to Robin, who had left the bottle on the sink and was moving over toward them again with a big smile on his face. Regina followed looking artificially happy. What had they been talking about? "She smiled at me!" Robin informed them coming to stand beside them instead of sit this time. "Course it could just be gas...I don't suppose you have any diapers on you."

"We survived decades using clothe diapers I'm sure you'll be just fine once again," Regina commented moving beside him to look in at the little bundle. Her smile grew into a genuine grin as she stared down at her. It appeared not even the Evil Queen could fight the effects of an adorable infant. "She has your eyes!" she observed, something she was certain no one else in the world would notice. Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland, and now this child…what a strange little family they made, and that was before taking into account the people gathered around the table. But of course, it wasn't the only thing to be taken into account.

"So, does she have a name yet?" she questioned, hoping that there was something she'd be able to call her other that "the baby" or "sweetheart".

"No!" Robin stated looking almost torn up. "Not yet, I can't. Hades can do things with names."

"Like put them on tombstones to keep people from leaving here," Regina remarked, reiterating what Mary Margaret and David had just told her.

"I don't even think it's wise to keep her in this apartment. What if Zelena changes her mind?"

"I hate to be the one to offer optimism but it sounds like she was sincere," Killian assured him.

"She was," Regina confirmed, "but that doesn't mean what she knows can't come back to bite us. Robin's taking her back to the forest." The forest?! When had this been decided?! Just now as they were talking? And how exactly was the forest safer than this place?!

"Honestly, it's the only place I've ever felt really at home."

Home. Home in the forest. She hadn't told him yet what Little John had told her the Merry Men were considering, that they were wanting to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Should she-

Across the room there was the sound of footsteps on metal and smiled when she saw Henry coming down the stairs from the second floor loft. He was alright! She wanted to step forward and hug him, she was sure that was what Neal would have done but it was clear there was no time. He was a man on a mission.

"It happened!" he declared. "It happened again!" Breathless, he put some papers into the hands of David who was seated across from her. "Take a look!"

She watched as David's expression morphed from curiosity to shock and she began to strain to see the papers in his hand. What was happening?! "Snow, look at this!" he said pushing papers into her hands as well. She could see writing on the back of the paper and color and drawing on the front, the bit Mary Margaret was looking at, but what on earth-

"It's Neal!" she breathed with shock and awe, happiness too! It was the same look David had.

"When did you write this?" David asked looking over at Henry as Emma took some of the pages as well.

"It's like before," Henry answered. "I didn't…or I just…don't remember…it just…wrote itself! Like it does…" Didn't remember writing something? Something that could write itself?! What was going on down here?

"'The infant son of Snow White and Prince Charming looked up at the tiny glass unicorns as they stirred by the wind, but on this night he didn't hear the chime of the crystal," Emma read. "'Instead, he heard the voices of his mother Snow White and his father Prince Charming. They sang a lullaby until he fell asleep as soundly as if he were in their arms.'"

"He heard us!" Mary Margaret breathed looking over at David, before she'd turned away from Emma she could see the tears gathering in her eyes. David looked relieved at the news, like he was struggling to hold tears in as well! He breathed as he looked over the pages that Henry had brought them, pictures of Neal, and she saw him reach out to squeeze Henry's shoulder. "He heard us!" Mary Margaret breathed again sounding amazed.

"Thanks Henry," David muttered. Emma reached out and put her hand on her mother's shoulder. She'd been just about to do it herself, but the moment she saw Mary Margaret reach up and grab it tight she was glad she hadn't. Though she had a lot of questions, it was clear to her just from those pages that she was missing Neal, their child, Emma was the one she'd needed contact with at that moment.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I am really ready to get back home to my family!" she added looking around at all of them. "My whole family! No more waiting! We can save ourselves! We're going to take down Hades, and we're going to do it now!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be hard to believe, but this was hands down the most difficult chapter to write in the entire fiction. Logistically speaking of course. There were a lot of chapters far more painful to write but this one just gave me a headache. So much going on that had to be explained! You've got Henry upstairs sleeping/brooding (he totally got the brooding from his grandfather, I'm convinced), Captain Swan is in the background just having a nice little chat as if someone from Storybrooke didn't just show up in the world of the dead, Belle has got to be filled in on what is going on in the Underworld so that she doesn't look surprised when things get mentioned, the others have got to be filled in on what is going on topside, Outlaw Queen is standing there BUT they cannot have been standing there the entire time because apparently, they've made a plan together that somehow the others are unaware of, clearly conversations have been going on prior to this one...it was just confusing. I can't entirely blame the writers on this one, it's just one of those scenes that doesn't translate well logistically to writing. On TV it's a scene that looks great, on paper it has you scratching your head saying "wait, what?" That is the only reason this chapter is so long, there were a lot of people to move around, a lot of little things to be said. But I think I've finally got it to a point where it all makes sense with what we saw. Let me know if something seems off or if I missed something.
> 
> Thank you Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter. I'm glad we see eye to eye on that particular subject! Peace and Happy Reading!


	25. Making Suggestions

It was clear that Mary Margaret was more than ready to go home, as were the rest of them, she suspected, but Killian, the ever pessimistic voice of reason, was quick to remind them it wasn't a possibility. "Rousing speech, love, except you're forgetting one thing: we can't."

"And it's not just about taking down Hades anymore," Regina added. "It's about getting our names off those tombstones."

"And getting Hook back with us," Emma reminded. "We have to think through this carefully."

The silence that fell was loud and concentrated. The sentiments shared were not just Mary Margaret's, they belonged to everybody. And right now every last one of them was trying, thinking of something they could use to defeat Hades, get their names off the tombstone, save Killian, and get home. What struck her the most was that it wasn't them who suddenly had a plan. It was her.

"I have an idea," she muttered from her place at the table. "Two actually. We'd need to leave this place and I don't know that anything would come of it but-"

"Doing something is better than standing around here with nothing," Regina finished for her. "Lead on!"

"Actually…" Robin stuttered suddenly, "I think for now it's best if we parted ways."

"Part ways?! Now?! You don't have any supplies! You don't even have formula!"

"I have my arrows and my daughter Regina and that is all I need for now. I trust that in the morning you'll find me and bring me all I need, but in the meantime the best way to stay ahead of the enemy is to keep moving. And...that's what we're going to do," he said glancing at his daughter.

Regina said a good-bye to Robin and his daughter and while it wasn't tearful she could certainly sense the sadness behind it. Of course the passionate kiss she reached up to give him before they departed and the small white glowing pebble that she gave him, to call in case of emergency, probably didn't hurt either. But what followed was what she hoped would be a turn for them. After Robin grasped Belle's hand tight, the only thing he really could do with a baby in his arms and whispered a heartfelt "thank you" before he departed. She smiled as they watched him go. Of course she was nervous for him, but she'd learned that Robin Hood was a resourceful man. With his daughters safety as motivation, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that they would both be safe.

In the wake of his departure, she led them down Main Street, and tried not to pay attention to the little, dilapidated pawn shop at the end of the road and focus instead on what she always considered her salvation no matter what the state of her marriage.

"The library?" Regina questioned as they made their way inside.

She nodded. "The library. You're looking for information to defeat Hades, the library is the perfect place to start."

"Wouldn't Hades have gotten rid of all those books a long time ago?!" Emma questioned skeptically.

"Possibly, but I think looking here is just as good a place to start as any, and besides, there's one more advantage…" she led them all over to the elevator. "Hades had Rumple summon the portal that brought me and the baby over. When he emerged to figure out why it hadn't worked the right way…he came out of this elevator."

There was silence as their eyes all moved from her onto the elevator behind her and then widened in understanding. "You've got to be kidding me," Emma finally muttered.

"The elevator is a one way ticket to his lair?" Regina finished.

"Or it'll get us close enough to find his lair." Before she'd finished her sentence Regina stepped around her and laid her hands on the mechanism to open the doors. Emma squawked her name in protest but she either didn't hear her to didn't want to and instead turned it to get the doors open. From within she heard grinding and motion, but then a squeal and a stop…and then nothing at all. Regina tried again, she moved the wheel and pushed and pulled. But once more nothing happened and she was left looking only at the doors. Finally she left the elevator, stood back a few feet and raised her hands. She cast a spell of purple and red magic and everyone stood back as she assaulted the door with wave after wave. Nothing. Emma joined. Her distinctive white colored magic added a wind to the room that put out the fires around them, dusted the shelves and floor, and for just a moment made that overwhelming smell of sulfur vanish. But it was only for a moment, because a few seconds later both women gave up and the doors remained unopened.

"Well, that was worth a try at least," David commented.

"No…it's worth more than that. I hate to admit it but the bookworm is on to something. New plan," Regina clapped her hands together and addressed them but looked around at the poor imitation of her library. "Find me something to open these doors."

"Open them? What exactly do you intend to do when you get them open? Jump out, yell 'surprise', and give him a birthday cake?" Killian questioned.

"No," Regina growled. "I know better than anyone that we always keep our weaknesses close to our heart. If there is something, anything, that can help us defeat him, Hades will have it in his lair."

"Right along with Hades," Mary Margaret pointed out.

"Right, but fortunately for us, we have someone with us that just might be able to coax him out of his hiding place long enough for us to search."

The others seemed confused, but she knew immediately what she was thinking and she dropped her jaw at Regina's plan. "You want to offer Zelena up to him?"

"Of course not," Regina balked. "But if my sister really wants to place herself on a path of repentance then helping us is one way to do it…while she's heavily monitored by others who can use magic and step in if the situation requires it, all while the others search Hades treehouse...or...hellhouse."

"More like a pit of despair," Emma muttered looking at the closed doors.

"Either way, this is all theoretical and we have nothing else, no other plan, so long as we continue to just stand here so…go! Research…find me something I can use!"

The words were supposed to spark action. But instead everyone just looked around at the library and then stared at one another. She only rolled her eyes and sighed. She took off her hat and coat, found a cart and began filing through what was in this version of her library as she uttered instructions. First they were to go through the titles of the books. If it looked magical, they were to place it on the cart, then she and Regina would look the books over and try to find something useful in it. They would either then discard the books if there was nothing to be found or set it aside for further research if it proved important. It took most of the night to get through the shelves and at some point, as the others were still pulling them off, one right after another, she and Regina sat down to begin skimming and reading.

Dark Magic. Dark spells. Dark rituals. Dark plots. Dark this. Dark that. "I'm sensing a theme," she muttered sometime just before daybreak.

"Well…it is hell…what did you expect?" Regina questioned looking alongside her. She only shook her head. She'd expected that they'd at least run into something good they could use. Or something easier than locating a dwarf and cutting out it's tongue for a spell.

"Mom! Belle!" She and Regina both popped their heads up at Henry's call. "I think you should come look at this." With a glance at each other they abandoned their posts just for a moment to follow after Henry. He took them into the back room, the room in the library that she usually reserved for magical books. The door looked as though it had been kicked in, possibly by a teenagers shoe and what she found covering the shelves, wall to wall, were stories. But not just any stories.

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," Regina read looking over one spine. "One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, Little Red Riding Hood."

"Every story I know is in here, every classic," Henry stated looking around. "The Scarlet Letter, The Little Mermaid, The Beauty and the Beast, I even found a copy of The Grapes of Wrath, but there is one book, one series I didn't find."

"Let me guess…The Wizard of Oz is missing," Regina drawled.

"All of those books are," Henry confirmed. "There is nothing here about Oz!"

She and Regina exchanged glances at the news. They both understood the indication. "There is something more going on between them. I know there is. And it's not about that time travel spell!"

"Belle! Regina!" Killian called out behind them. It seemed that morning had brought them newfound luck. Killian and the others had followed them into the little room and were kneeling by a pile of books that had been heaped onto the floor. She'd barely noticed them when she first walked in but now that Killian was kneeling beside them, examining them with his hook, she could see they were hardly ordinary books. They were a pile of old ash and dust. They lay in a hasty stack on the floor, scorched and cracking, clearly damaged, but not destroyed. "What do you make of this?" Killian questioned as she kneeled down to more closely observe them. They reminded her of the books rescued from the fire that Zelena had set in the palace library when they were in the Enchanted Forest. What was damaged was gone, but the books weren't burned completely and where there were holes she could clearly see what they were about.

"This is all mythology," she explained looking through them. "Books on the gods! Zeus, Hera, Hercules…all of them."

"Did you say Hercules?" Mary Margaret questioned stepping forward and taking the book out of her hands. She only picked up another one and began to explore.

"So he locks our stories away, burns books of his past, but books that feature my sister are missing?"

"That doesn't suggest destruction," Killian commented.

"No, but it does suggest something."

Her eyes widened as she tuned the others out and focused on the page she'd just found. This wasn't Dark Magic. It wasn't exactly Light Magic, more like neutral magic, but this was something that might help them and get them downstairs. "Regina, look at this," she demanded standing up to place the book in her hands. "It's a spell to transform any doorway into a portal that will summon gods. It'll take a lot of time to create, a little bit of improvising, the spell is intricate, but if you succeed it means your worthy to see the god you summon."

"Hades."

"A little twist and it might open the elevator to take you to him. Then we can worry about Zelena and next steps."

Regina looked over spell before her and then lifted her eyes and smiled. "Clever bug."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladies and Gentlemen, I very proudly present to you: the missing chapter. I am absolutely not kidding you, the space between 5x16 and 5x17...no sense. No sense whatsoever. The last we see of the group in 5x16 Mary Margaret is saying "I'm ready to go home" and I'm sitting there saying "that's a nice sentiment honey but you are not on vacation, there is a reason you are here and a reason you haven't gone home yet." They never explain anything after that. The next time you see them they are just sitting in the library decorating the elevator door, no mention of why or what they are planning, not mentioning the time travel thing, and my instinct was to say "what's that and how the hell did we end up here?!" I hope that this chapter takes a decent step forward and sorting all that out. Think we're done? Oh no. Not even close. There was still one other problem with this episode and I fix it not in the next chapter but the chapter after that. Probably not a problem for the writers as much as an editing problem...did you spot it in 5x17?
> 
> A big thank you to Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter! I'm glad that it was appreciated! Thank you, dear! Peace and Happy Reading!


	26. A Mother's Burden

Regina agreed to her suggestion and immediately the two of them set out to make plans and see to the rest of the day. Emma and Killian were elected to locate formula and other supplies to take to Robin in the woods so he would know what was happening. Mary Margaret and David were sent out for food, which she was told was actually quite good all things considered, followed by a strict order not to tell that to Granny. Henry went with them and just before everyone returned that afternoon there was another problem that they hadn't considered. The door to the library opened. A stranger entered. Once they figured out the person meant no harm and was just looking for something, Regina was quick to alter their memory and send them away. But when the others returned, the Charmings with food, and Emma and Killian with success and news that Robin and baby were both well, they figured out a new plan. Guards.

For once in her life, she was the one they deferred to. She knew this library, every nook, and cranny of it. And so, they asked her where they needed to be to make sure that no one spied on them without their knowledge. Without a clocktower to worry about, that was easy. After filling up on soup and lasagna Emma and Killian went to the roof to watch the street. David and Regina would take the front door since that was where Regina needed to do her work, Henry was sent away to try and sleep, something they were all sorely needing at a time like this, just in case he "wrote something new". And that left her and Mary Margaret to take up watch in the stairwell by the back door. It wasn't dark yet, but she had a feeling it would get dark soon. The idea behind two watchers at each post was that one might actually get some sleep while the other guarded the door and sure enough when she and Mary Margaret were alone, the Princess told her she'd take the first watch if she wanted to close her eyes.

She did. She wanted to close her eyes so bad and just sleep. But she didn't. On the landing above Mary Margaret, no matter how she curled up under her coat, no matter how many times she tried to sleep, images and thoughts just kept coming to her. In the silence and inactivity of the nighttime hours, there was nothing to think about, nothing to think through, nothing to plot or plan or even solve. Time slowed, and memories invaded. Rumpelstiltskin was the Dark One again. She was pregnant. Rumple had lied to her, betrayed her again. They were bound together by something more than a marriage. They were going to have a child. A child already owed to Hades, a child she might not get to raise, it was worse than her worse fears! Then she'd only had to worry about a child being reared to be a king or queen, now she had to fear what would happen if reared by a devil or a Dark One!

"Oh!" she felt herself whimper and turned over to stuff her hand in her mouth so she wouldn't be heard. She'd thought, just before she crossed the town line, that if she went back to him the only one she could blame for breaking her heart would be herself, she was wrong. She hadn't even known she'd wanted a child until she had it, but now that she knew, now that she knew that one was alive and growing inside of her…she wanted it bad! So bad! Rumple had too! He'd been the one to suggest it, and yet he had taken it away from her before she ever really had it. How could something like this happen?!

Before she could start to shed tears, she sat up, wiped her eyes and looked around. Suddenly she didn't want even to try to sleep, not while this bounty hung over the head of her child. "Belle!" Mary Margaret exclaimed as she made her way back down the stairs and sat next to her. "I thought you were asleep."

"I tried," she sighed. "But I just can't at the moment. You know, maybe you should give it a try, Mary Margaret. No reason for both of us to be up."

"Sleep is overrated when you win a free vacation to hell," she refused with a shrug. "Ah…but it's 'Snow' again. It's a new thing, but I'm trying to get back in the habit."

She was tired, and it took her a moment to figure out what she was talking about. It wasn't the weather. It was her name. She didn't want to be Mary Margaret anymore? Only Snow White? "That uh…that's a…a big change."

"But it's long overdue. I've been living as Mary Margaret for so long…I just thought it was time I remembered who Snow White was."

She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a sigh. She couldn't think of anything else to add to that, especially since she felt like she was failing at remembering who she was. The woman that had left her father's castle and ventured into dangerous land with a cursed Dark One, who had braved an evil queen's warning to break that curse, the woman who had declared that she'd love him no matter what and fight for him…

She could remember those times; she could remember that woman. The problem was that every time he'd betrayed her, every time she'd taken a step closer to her and he'd moved closer to magic, she'd shattered a little bit more. Now she was only a splinter of her former self. She still believed in everything she was, still believed in doing the brave thing, still believed breaking his curse was worth it. She would still happily fight for him…but if he wasn't going to fight for himself, if he was going to actively oppose her every step of the way, grinding her down until this fragment of her was nothing but dust…she had to ask if that was really worth it.

With a sniffle, she glanced over at Mary Mar-Snow White and saw that she wasn't just sitting in this stairwell. In her hands were the pages that she'd seen Henry come down the stairs with earlier-last night. She was looking at the image of an infant, a picture she recognized was little Neal, even with the artistic license. "Those papers again," she commented.

Snow nodded. "I can't stop looking at them."

"I know that they're Neal, but I'm not quite sure I understand what they are."

Snow offered them to her to look at. "They're from Henry. You know that Henry is the author right? I mean I know you weren't there to see it in that storybook but…we found out he was. When we got back, he broke the pen in half, said he never wanted to be tempted to do anything that the previous author had done." Oddly enough she'd heard this story and yet hadn't heard it. In Camelot she'd talked with Henry about being the author, she knew that he was the author, but she hadn't heard about the pen or what happened to the others in the world that Isaac had created. "But of course we're in the Underworld, and apparently dead people aren't the only thing to end up here."

She blanched at the comment. "What? Things too?"

"Things too. Henry found the pen. He vowed that he was going to do some good with it, try and write Hades story so we could figure out a way to destroy him and get out of here, but so far he only comes up with unimportant stuff in his sleep. But this…" she breathed beaming down at the picture once more. "David and I were so worried yesterday morning. We feel like we haven't seen him for years and he's only months old. We found out that there is a special phone booth around here that the souls use to haunt those back in our world and we did it but had no confirmation it worked. And then Henry wrote this. This is our confirmation. But…I still miss him. Every minute of every day. 'Mother' might not have been in Snow White's wheelhouse before, but…it is now."

She smirked as she looked the young mother over, her happiness and misery over just a piece of paper clearly evident. "He misses you too, you know. The fairies asked me up to help when the kids couldn't quite get settled and not only did I move Roland but each day I took them formula, and changed them, and spent time with them. He may not be able to talk, but I could tell he missed you."

Beside her, Snow White sighed and closed her eyes in what appeared to be a look of relief, or quite possibly controlled pain. "And he's alright?" she questioned quietly. "He misses us, but he's doing fine."

"He's well cared for," she assured him. "You're running out of breast milk and diapers, but the fairies are smart, they'll figure out what to do. And Archie and Rapunzel will help, they always do."

"Rapunzel…I've hardly thought about her since the Enchanted Forest. She works for you now, doesn't she?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "For me…with me…it's complicated."

"Sure, what isn't in our lives?"

There was a pause

"I know you said you've been helping people move on from this place," she muttered feeling her throat tighten at the inquiry. "I don't suppose you've run into Neal…have you?"

Mary-Snow only shook her head. "No," she confirmed. "But Emma…she told us that she had a vision of him, just before we got here. He's in a better place, and we saw his tombstone. That confirmed it."

She sighed with relief. Or at least she thought she did. Neal wasn't here. That was a good thing, without a doubt she couldn't think of anyone who deserved to be somewhere better…but she would have loved one last moment alone with him. The real him. To talk about all this. About what was inside her. She needed advice now more than ever. But she'd said good-bye on that road for a reason. It was better to talk to the living than the dead.

As both of them looked down at the picture of the baby, a picture so beautiful that she had a feeling that if it survived this place, it would be framed and hung on a wall. "So…I guess it turns out that having an author in the family is a good thing," she commented looking Henry's work over. It really was quite glorious. "Neal would be so proud of him."

"Yeah. We all are, especially after this," but a moment later the smirk that Snow had on her face had dissolved and she looked sad all over again. "Listen…I have to tell you something…it's about Rumpelstiltskin. He's-"

"The Dark One again…I know," she blurted out before Mary Margaret had to confess it to her.

A look of shock and even horror shadowed her face. "You do?"

She only nodded and wiped her face, hoping that she didn't have to see her wiping her eyes at the tears that had already begun to fall. "Yeah…Hades made him open the portal that brought the baby and me here and when it carried three people over instead of one it backfired and as I was searching for you…we ran into each other."

"Oh…Belle…I'm so sorry. Truly sorry!"

"You shouldn't make excuses for him."

"I'm not, only for myself! David and I didn't know he was the Dark One again, not until Emma brought us to meet him at the lake. She needed his blood to open the portal, but until then she hadn't told us what she knew. If we'd known we would have told you and Emma…I'm sorry she didn't tell you."

She swallowed hard and clenched her teeth together at that news. She'd been right then in assuming that Emma knew. But it would have been wrong to blame Emma at a time like that. Killian had just died, she'd been under a lot of stress and was desperate. Yes, the right thing to do would have been to tell her, she readily admitted that. But ultimately she shouldn't have had too.

"It wasn't her responsibility to tell me. It was Rumple's. He should have told me the moment it happened, but once again he lied, if not to my face then by omission and…" her voice broke, and she leaned on her knees to catch herself from collapsing against herself. She could only be strong for so long! In some odd way, she felt like she wasn't feeling it at all, like she was too broken and bruised to really feel what had happened but at the same time she felt like it was all at once crashing into her and threatening to flatten her completely.

"Belle?"

"I feel like we're stuck in some kind of endless repeating story," she burst out, trying to hide her tears. "I feel like even when I try to break the curse, it just unleashes two more, like we're some sick experiment of sadistic or poor authors and I don't know…I don't know how much more of it I can take. If any at all! And now we're…we're back at the start and I don't know if I can bear to go through it one more time but if I don't, then…"

She clutched her arms around her stomach and tried to take a deep breath, to calm down to not reveal what she still wanted to remained hidden, but-

"Oh my God," Mary Margaret whispered beside her, her eyes suddenly wide once more and her face ghost white. "You're pregnant."

She didn't have time to think about whether or not she wanted to consider telling her or not. The strength that it would have taken to shake her head or nod it was too much energy. Instead, her body dissolved naturally into tears that told the tale far better than she could have. A moment later she heard a shift on the stairs and felt a body press up against her own and wrap her arms around her shoulders. She turned her head and cried onto Mary Margaret's shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is the editing mistake that they made that I had to correct in this chapter. Obviously, there is a day that passes here, I do not think that it was intended and I didn't originally plan for a day to pass, but when I watched the episode again I had no choice but to put this day in. Why you may ask, because of that editing mistake. I missed it the first time I saw it, but watch the beginning of the episode again. It begins in daylight, Belle over at the shop. However! One of the next things we get is a dream from Emma, she and Hook are on the roof of the library and it is very clearly night time. But in the next selection of scenes, Belle is over at the shop and it is day time again. When Emma goes down into the library, where Regina is working on the door, it is also very clearly day time again. This particular mistake, I don't think, belongs to the writers. I have a feeling that the dream was meant to open the episode, but in the end, the scenes got shifted. No matter what it was meant to be, canon is what happens on screen and so I had to throw some extra stuff in there to accommodate the mistake. I hope it doesn't seem too awkward.
> 
> I hope some of the awkward things in this chapter came out alright. It was odd writing the Mary Margaret/Snow White thing again. I basically just did what I did way back in Moments Exchanged when Neal said he wanted to be called Neal instead of Baelfire, lots of interrupting thoughts and corrective moments. Also, I know it seems like it's starting to run together...that's all on purpose. Belle has been awake for more than twenty-four hours at this point, so it's not really her imagination, she is emotional. Without sleep the body can only go through so much, oddly enough I use it to contribute to her ultimate decision. Ironically enough she really does just need to "sleep on" some things to sleep clearly. Peace and Happy Reading!


	27. What Next

What next. She and Mary Margaret spent hours on the steps by the back door of the library trying to figure out what was next for her. The woman wasn't exactly Rapunzel, who she knew she could tell anything to without a moment of hesitation, but after some prodding, she realized that she was just as good. After she calmed down enough that she wasn't crying or gasping for breath, Snow was gentle, asking her questions about what happened, from the beginning. She told her all about what happened before the town line, how she'd nearly left, how she'd returned and vowed to start over, she told her how she'd come to be in the Underworld and everything that Rumple had said to her, even the bit that she suspected about Zelena and Hades. She watched her carefully for hints of what she was thinking, but she was stone faced as they worked through the tale, only sighing when she came to the end and looking down at her fingers as if she didn't want to meet her eyes.

"What was it that made you go back?" she asked. "After the town line? Was it just your memories or something that happened in Camelot or…"

"A little bit of it all I think," she swallowed tearfully. "Merlin…when we were in Camelot…he was talking about Nimue at the time but I didn't understand it until we were home…he told me to go back to him, that I belonged with him."

"Are you sure he wasn't just saying what he wished for himself?" she questioned.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! If he's projecting on you then you have no obligation to listen to him. It was just the thoughts of someone as confused as you were, are. Maybe he wanted you to go back because he couldn't."

No. She was certain that wasn't it. Put simply, he hadn't ever seemed confused to her. Not once! And what he'd said the night after she'd said good-bye to Merida! "Do you know what he told me once? He told me…he told me that he hoped there might be a day that the Darkness could be used for good, with the right person to control it."

"And you believe that's Rumpelstiltskin? That he could be the right person to control it?"

She didn't say "yes", but she didn't exactly say "no" either. "I think that Rumple is the only one that might be able to help our child. I mean, Rumple fought like hell to get Neal back, seeing Robin and his daughter reminded me just what fathers will do to protect their children. I need someone to fight like hell against hell, clearly. And I don't even know how this agreement was started or why! I don't know that I can do this without him. But it terrifies me because when I think of how he would do it…"

"It might not be the lightest path?" Snow inserted for her. She nodded and allowed herself to reach down and place her hand on her stomach. She didn't feel any different, not one bit, but if her math was right it wasn't as if she was months pregnant, only days! A week! One week tomorrow! She felt herself shiver at that realization. It had been one week since she'd gone back. And after all that had happened…she didn't know how she was supposed to be feeling now.

"I used to believe that bravery was doing the brave thing. I still believe that bravery is doing the brave thing but when I think about what going back to him means, the pain that it might cause for so many involved…I don't know if I have it in me. I don't know if it's the brave thing, or the stupid thing."

"You know…when it comes to my children I've put my faith and trust into some…pretty awful situations. Maleficent, an Enchanted Tree, now the Underworld."

"And you regret it?"

"To a point. But…when I look at my children, how they turned out, and much I love them…I know that I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant protecting them from darkness. Even if I know that is the wrong thing to say."

"You're saying I should trust him one more time?"

"I'm saying that your children change things in ways you can't imagine. Going back to him might not be the brave thing where you and Gold are concerned but that's not really the question anymore. The question is what do you have to do for your child."

That was it. That was the end of every argument, every thought she'd had against asking him for help. It wasn't about them anymore. It was about this child, their child. Whether she liked it or not they were linked together forever simply by the existence of it. Their child was innocent. Rumpelstiltskin might hold the key to salvation. It wasn't about her conscious or his darkness anymore. It was about saving their child.

The sun would be going down soon, but she'd made her decision and she knew that it meant getting up and following through right away, before she lost her nerve. She was going back. Not for her, not for him, and certainly not for them, but because she wanted this baby more than anything in the world right now. More than she'd wanted Samuel, more than she'd wanted her mother after she died, and more than she wanted Rumpelstiltskin. This baby deserved a good life unaffected by his father's darkness and deals he'd made before it was even conceived. And if it took Rumpelstiltskin to get that for her? So be it.

And she had to know, needed to know, with everything inside of her, if there was something to Merlin's prediction. If he was the man that could use the curse for Light. There would be no stronger motivation than this baby. How much did he want it?

At Mary Margaret's , or rather Snow White's, urging she left the group. She thanked her for their conversation and asked her not to tell the others what was going on. She wasn't sure why, only that she didn't want to draw attention to herself, not even to say good-bye. "Don't worry about us," she told her standing by the back door. "Don't let them worry about us. Just worry about getting yourselves home. Rumple and I will fix this, one way or another, whether we go back with you or not, we aren't leaving until this baby is safe. Just give us time."

Snow didn't like the thought of it, but she agreed to her terms and said she would tell the others she went back to Gold to deal with some private business and they would worry about getting themselves home. They were on their own. And now so was she, though a small thought in her head acknowledged that for the next nine months, she'd never be alone.

With a deep breath she looked across the street at the pawn shop that suddenly loomed ahead of her. It seemed empty, but if she was going to find Rumple, without summoning him, then the pawn shop was always the place to begin. Sure enough, the moment she opened the door she found him standing at the counter, as if this wasn't the Underworld, as if this wasn't a place of death and this really was his pawn shop, his home.

The normalcy to it all ended the moment he turned around and saw that it was her coming inside. "Belle," he breathed with a look a surprise that told her for the first time he really hadn't been sure if she was ever coming back. The feeling was a bit mutual. She still wasn't sure if she was ever coming back. And she couldn't allow those feelings to clutter their life at the moment. Their child came first. No question.

"No, I won't be separated from this child," she declared coming toward him. "I need your help."

"So…you've accepted who I am."

Never! "I've accepted that no one will fight for a child like it's father. You've proven that much." That was the place for them to begin. Both of them. Work together to see if they could free the child in a way neither of them would regret. She'd see where they could go from there. Because she knew, deep down, darkness was not who Rumpelstiltskin was, even if he didn't know it. He just had to see it. He had once, maybe he could do it again. "But no Dark Magic," she insisted.

"You must have known what you were letting yourself in for," he snapped back quickly, as if all of this, his curse, was her fault. She supposed that in some ways she had, in more ways than she was proud of, actually. But for now she'd known she had just because she knew that a rebuttal like he'd given was on it's way long before she'd gone into the shop and Snow White had helped her prepare for that.

"When we were back in Camelot, Merlin said that perhaps one day, someone would be able to wield the power of the Dark One Dagger for good," she informed him, hoping, praying really that he would be moved by the words of the wise older wizard to do the right thing. And if that didn't work, then maybe something a bit closer to his heart. "Show me that you can be that man. Show me and…and we can save our child, and we can turn the darkness into light!" But they weren't going to do it sitting on opposite sides of the fence. This was for good. If they could do this, then maybe there was hope for them and their vision of a family after all. A small glimmer was all she needed.

"Well that's the thing with Dark and Light…depends on your point of view," he suggested. Was that supposed to be a yes or a no or… "In the end, you do what you can to protect those you love."

A "no" then, clearly. "Right…well I'd never resort to darkness because that's not what a hero does!" And now it wasn't just her silly dreams of what a hero was or was not. Now she was something more. She was a mother. And she wanted to set the best example she could for their child and that meant being a good person!

"In the heat of the moment you do whatever it takes."

Which was why he'd lost Baelfire in the first place, to hold on to his power of magic?! She bit her tongue before she could make a remark like that. His words and the actions she knew had taken place were disturbing. But now, before the child was born was the time to answer all these questions. Would he make the same mistake twice? Would she? She couldn't back down.

"You want a future with me? You have to do this my way!"

He looked her over, clearly unhappy with the restrictions that she'd placed on him and his precious magic, but now was the time to find out, who held more sway over him. Her? Or that dagger? "Fine, we'll do this your way. Where shall we begin?" he finally questioned irritably.

She felt the smallest bit of tension ease out of her. She didn't like the tone, but his willingness she did appreciate. That was a good sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this scene...not actually that difficult to write, just had to transcribe, what was difficult to come up with was why the others didn't come after her. That was possibly one of the biggest complaints that I had in this half of the season. Belle is there in 5x16 and then gone in 5x17 and no one seems to give a damn. Now, I don't think the writers are doing this relationship injustice on purpose, simply because I really don't believe they are setting out to make them all look like selfish people that don't care about Belle but only their immediate family. I just think they are making it more complicated that it has to be. I suspect that they think in order to further that relationship they have to make room in the script for long conversations like Belle had with Mary Margaret over the last couple of chapters. Really, they don't. Sure, it would be nice, but all we really need is the implication of these conversations so that we know something is happening off screen. I choose Mary Margaret for Belle to tell she's pregnant, first because I believe she was the most logical choice and Belle can relate to her, but second because of her little habit of not being able to really keep a secret. They didn't need to show a scene like this in the show, they needed to show a scene like this: D: Where is Belle? MM: Oh, she left to go find Gold, they had some stuff to take care of, said we should just let them be. E: Personal stuff? What kind of personal stuff? We're in hell. MM: It's really nothing. K: It's never nothing with the crocodile. MM: OMG BELLE IS PREGNANT AND RUMPLE SOLD THEIR CHILD TO HADES ::Shocked expressions:: She went back to Gold so that they could try and fix things and get their child back, it might take a while so we should just focus on leaving. E: Like hell they need our help! R: We need help right now. Let Gold take care of himself, he's more than capable. We need to get out of here now. END SCENE. That would have been a welcome small edition that certainly would have helped. Am I right? And again, just before they went through the portal: MM: This feels wrong, shouldn't we at least check on Belle? R: We don't have time, the book worm said to leave her and she's with her Dark One, she'll be fine. Let's go! END SCENE. They don't need to have big conversations, they just need the implications and to back it up with a name drop every now and then to let the audience know they haven't forgotten about her.
> 
> Thank you, once again to the lovely Deweymay for the comments that you left on the last chapter. I really hope this one came out alright despite the fact that it was kind of an awkward transition. Personally, I'm not really impressed with it. Mary Margaret has never been a character that I feel I've mastered and alas, unlike the wonderful Fox24 who checks my Hook character chapters, I do not have a Mary Margaret checker. I hope it's better than I think it is. And I hope you are with me in the timeline so far. I've edited and fixed all that I think has to be edited and fixed, I think it is mostly straight shooting form here. Peace and Happy Reading!


	28. Unexpected Twists and Turns

Last night she'd started this endeavor with hope. A small, frail piece of hope that there might be something there between them, something they'd had before, a love that would make him yield his Darkness to Light and follow after her and what she held for him-a happy family. That was something Dark Magic couldn't give to him. And yet, even from the beginning it was clear that he wasn't going to give in so quickly.

He'd asked her where they were going to begin and she'd told him, it was the place that she started with everyone no matter what the problem, even here. "Research. We read books with Light Magic until we find something that works or get an idea about how we can make something work."

He didn't even blink and suddenly all around her, appearing in a cloud of black, magic books sat stacked on tables, chairs, the glass cases. She stared daggers at him as she looked the first few over skeptically. But there was nothing to worry about. They were in fact books containing Light Magic. Still…he didn't exactly have to get them there the way that he had. That was unnecessary and her glare must have made that perfectly clear.

"What?" he questioned with false innocence before rolling his eyes and turning to open one. "A summoning charm is hardly a product of Darkness," he excused all too quickly. "Besides, we're in the Underworld and working on a nine month clock. We'd spend more time looking for these books than looking for answers in them...which there aren't."

She had to bite the inside of her cheek not to snap back at him. He was right of course, at least about the first part, but that wasn't what had bothered her. It was the tone he'd used and assumed expectation of failure. Considering he was right, they were in no position to rule anything out and seeing as how it was Hades that wanted their baby, Light Magic might be exactly what they needed. "Don't be so sure," she chastised. "I've found plenty of answers to dark curses in books of light magic-"

"And how many answers have you found using the books I keep in the basement?"

That had gone too far. Her patience, the very fact that she was here, suggested she was willing to work with him and yet his attitude suggested the opposite. If he was going to work with her and snicker behind her back the entire time then she could go and figure this out for herself.

"Are you with me or not?" she demanded angrily snapping the book she'd been exploring closed. Beneath the heavy tomb the glass of the case cracked. She pretended not to notice and Rumple sighed a bit too dramatically for her taste before saying "Lead on!"

She gave him books to look through and took some for herself. When he made a remark, asking her what to look for, she told him, instructed him really just as she had everyone that had ever helped her do her research. She told him not to read the books, just skim them, look for key words or phrases in chapter titles, headers, dedications, anything that might suggest help. She suggested he look for "Hades", "deal", "Devil", "baby"…anything that might help them.

Anything. There was still one thing that she knew had to be asked if they wanted to come out of this. One thing that might help if they had the information. "How did this happen anyway?" she questioned going through another book as day turned into night.

"I told you…Bae was dying."

"And the price was your second born-"

"Which I didn't have at the time, whatever love Milah and I had once shared had dried up years ago, so I never thought it would be a problem."

"Yeah, but Rumple…we've talked about children before. You and Cora spoke of a child long before this, why would you want a second child if you knew it was only going to be taken away."

"Because I knew the debt would never be claimed," he answered as easily as if he was talking about the weather. "The original contract wasn't with Hades, it was with a healer in our village, a foreigner we called The Atlantean. I made the deal with him. And when I thought Cora and I might have a child together-"

"Let me guess…you killed him," she assumed, struck by how unfeeling and unsurprised her own voice was. This was so typical, almost too predictable for the great Rumpelstiltskin. But she couldn't hold it against him. She hadn't been part of his life then.

"I took care of the problem," he confirmed. "What I didn't think of was The Atlantean giving the contract to Hades in death."

She could have made a smart snippy remark about that, but instead she took a deep breath, remembered this was about their child, not their past, and considered what he told her. "So the deal wasn't even with Hades…there must be a way to break the contract, to unbind us or you or our child from it. Keep looking. Search for anything about Healers or Atlanteans or…anything!"

And so on they went with through the night searching through their books for answers or ideas, anything she could put together. More than once in the night she yawned and more than once he suggested she lay down in the back and rest. She refused each time. She wasn't about to take his eyes off him at a time like this and besides, she didn't need sleep yet. "I can't sleep until I know my child will be born free," she vowed.

"Is that really the best thing for you and the baby?" he questioned without taking his eyes out of the book.

"Are you really the best person to question right and wrong," she snapped before taking a different book and setting it upon the counter that allowed her to turn her back on him. She was frustrated, she was tired, and she wanted this to be over. She wanted to go back to weeks ago, to go with Mary Margaret and David when Henry had declared he and Emma found the dreamcatchers, she wanted to get her memories and know what would have been different if she'd had her memories of Camelot before she'd gone to the well. Would they be in this same spot if she had?

They worked through the night into the next morning, read until words blurred together and she felt her eyes might bleed, but if there ever was a time to make sacrifices this was it. This was the moment, she was certain, that she knew her child would look back on and tell friends about. This was how their child would know that they were loved. Because of how much their mother and father sacrificed to get them back.

"Useless!" he exclaimed suddenly.

"Well keep looking!" she snapped back, finding another book and setting it in front of him. She heard the irritation in her voice but couldn't be bothered to correct it. Not only had she already had enough of his attitude she was beginning to doubt his findings and wonder if she wasn't better off checking the books herself. Was he not finding anything because there was nothing to find or because he didn't want to find it? She'd had a few leads through the night. They never led very far, but it didn't seem possible that she could have so many while he'd had none. "These books are full of light magic there must be something here that can help!"

"If we wanted to boil a pot of tea, yes?"

"So every time you try something nefarious it's a smashing success but when I ask you to channel that power for good? You fail!" she accused.

"I don't care what Merlin said, to be able to turn darkness to light, is a fool's errand! To use Darkness for light? That may be possible."

"I won't allow it!"

"Then we'll fail."

And his unwavering confidence in that was the final straw. "Okay, well, this was a mistake! I shouldn't have come here!" she decided storming out.

"Belle!" he called after her, but she ignored him and left the shop in frustration.

Who was this man? This being she saw before her? He was nothing like the man she loved so much and resembled more the beast than he ever had. He'd never told her that she couldn't do something, he'd always had the utmost faith in her and her ideas, he's always encouraged her! But now he was asking her to kowtow to the darkness inside of him as well?! It couldn't be done. It wouldn't. If he wanted to hand himself over to it then fine, so be it. But she wasn't about to let him take her or their child down with him in this curse. Light magic was capable of more than he suspected. She'd seen the fairies work miracles he just had to look and if he wasn't willing to? She was going back to the library, back to the others, they'd help her if she told them-

"Belle, please, come back," he asked following her outside.

"I don't want to hear any more justific-"

She stopped as something whistling past her side caught her attention. Both their attentions. They both looked around curiously for the object that had disrupted their argument until she got the idea to look for what had caused the object to-

She gasped as she turned and saw a face that she'd never expected to see again in her life standing before them, bow and arrow in hand. "Gaston?!" she shrieked as he pulled another arrow from his quiver and aimed.

Gaston was in the Underworld? He was dead?!

She'd always believed he might have perished but actually seeing it…how?!

"What are you doing here?"

"He killed me. I'm gonna return the favor," he stated rounding on them. No. Not them. He had those hunters eyes she'd gotten to know so well and they were drawn now not to her…but to Rumpelstiltskin. Him?! He'd killed Gaston?!

"It's going to take much more than a pointy stick to kill me," he pointed out with a confident and almost cocky attitude.

Gaston chuckled. "We'll see about that!" he countered pulling back on his bow. She jumped when the arrow sprang loose. She shielded her eyes but by the time she'd raised her arm it was over. The arrow was in Rumple's hand and…it was no ordinary arrow. She could see it's tip glowing red.

"Interesting choice of weapon," he remarked examining it. She examined the streets. The library, her friends were just inside! Was it possible they'd help? Could they see the peril she'd put them in. Or would Snow instruct them to stay out of it as she had told her to? "So it was Hades who sent you."

No friends? No light magic? No truth…and now the tale that Hades was after them again. Come to claim their child through Gaston?!

"He and I want the same thing…to make sure you stay down here!" She felt like she could barely breath. For just one horrid second she thought that her time was up, that Gaston would kidnap her and take her to the Underworld to surrender her child. She was only a few days pregnant, but she'd seen Emma progress a pregnancy in a matter of minutes. What could Hades do?! To their child? To her? What would he do to Rumple if he got his hands on him? Other than order him to do more horrid and terrible things in return for their child? That wasn't the answer either.

"Stop! Stop!" she cried running out in front of him before her former fiancé could grab another arrow. "Gaston, we all have history together, but…there must be some other way to resolve this!" she begged.

He turned his eyes on her, that same fire that she'd known him to have all those years ago, the fire that had never been turned on her, suddenly was and she took a single step back away from it. "I have been trapped down here for years, suffering and miserable all because of him…" she turned back to stare at Rumple. She wasn't sure what she hoped or wanted to see. Regret? Confusion? Fear? There was none of that in his eyes and she felt her hands ball into fists all over again. What had he done now?! "So no, I can't let the beast go free!"

She barely had time to turn around and cover her belly to protect her child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, first of all, let me apologize and pre-apologize for the awkwardness in some of the 5x17 chapters. Centric episodes are always harder to break up than just adding Belle into the other scenes, so I did my best with all of these, but there are places the breaks might seem odd. Second of all, I suspect this will not be the case for most, but I actually like this chapter. Why? Because they are fighting. And while most people think fighting in a relationship is a bad sign, I kind of think it's good or at least has its place. Words are exchanged, problems are put out into the open, they are stating the issues they have with one another. She is calling him on some of his views and he is calling her on some of her hypocrisy. I like when they fight. It's the fact that they never seem to make up that irritates the crap out of me.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	29. A Truth At Last

Tension flooded her body as she waited for the arrow to strike, but what greeted her ears was not the slicing of air that an arrow made, but the calming sound of lapping water. It was quiet and still. She opened her eyes and looked around only to discover…she was at the docks?!

Magic!

And the reason for it was before her.

Rumple.

He'd rescued them...but apparently he'd rescued them from danger that he helped create! Danger he had never seen fit to tell her about, and even worse, lied to her about every time she'd asked!

"So…you killed Gaston, my fiancé and never thought to tell me?!" she assumed looking him over.

"It was an arranged marriage I was doing you a favor!" he argued childishly.

A favor! Murder?! He'd already had her out of her father's care and living with him where was the harm exactly?! And that wasn't even the worst of it. He'd lied to her again! Years ago when she'd first arrived in Storybrooke, she had Rumple bring her art supplies so that she could create missing posters for her father and Gaston. She'd told him that she just wanted to find him and check on him, not that she felt anything for him because she hadn't. After she'd made the posters Rumple had told her that he would "take care of it" and she'd never seen them again. He'd never once mentioned that Gaston was dead! Only that he'd never seen him in town! Had he been dead all this time and he'd known about it? Had he really never told her?! One lie only ever seemed to lead to another. How could he not see the harm in this?! How could he think this magic made him a better person?! How could he think this lifestyle made them stronger or that it was safe for their child?!

"This…this was a mistake, once again I've let my optimism cloud my judgment!" And where was she supposed to go from here? Was she supposed to leave? She couldn't leave, this baby meant that she couldn't be apart from him even if she tried! Walking away would be selfish. Bad for the baby, good for her, only suddenly bad for the baby meant that it was also bad for her.

Her head was spinning.

Overnight her world was upside-down again and she knew who was responsible.

She couldn't do this. They couldn't! They weren't ready to be parents! He clearly wasn't ready to consider a child before everything he loved, including his magic, and she wasn't used to thinking this way, to putting a baby first! She'd never have gone back to him if he'd still been the Dark One, she'd never have gotten pregnant, she'd never have come through that portal…she would never have had to see him again. Right now she could be in a New York City Suite designing dresses or exploring bookstores or even traveling around the world! And instead, she'd made a choice to return and get pregnant, unknowingly subjecting their child to his deal! If he'd only told her…

"His threat is real you know," he stated sadly. "I may be immortal, but Hades forged these arrows in the river of souls, a river which flows right into this very sea in fact. Now, immortal or not, one scratch…and I'm trapped in these waters forever. And I won't be able to help our child."

She took a deep breath and worked hard to stunt her tears. Well…she couldn't walk away from that either! It was cruel and she couldn't imagine him…what was it that tied them together now? Was it this baby? Was it love? It certainly didn't feel like love but then other times it did. Couldn't he see how his actions and lies tore her in two? Didn't he care?

"Hades is clever," he insisted stepping forward. "He's sent Gaston, because he knows you won't let me hurt him." Well that was absolutely true. Depressing and infuriating, but true. "Let's prove him wrong. Let me use a little bit of Dark Magic, just enough to take care of Gaston."

She shook her head. "No!" Absolutely not. He was standing before her asking what he'd asked her the other day, to make the choice to be "okay" with something so vile…no. He might be able to do it, but she couldn't and wouldn't let him do it. But she believed in Light Magic, now more than ever, and recalled the conversation from last night. There was another way to get Gaston out from between them and Hades. They could free him. And hurt Hades in the process. "That's not how we're going to defeat him; we're going to do the opposite. We're going to help him. We're going to see to it that he finally moves on from this infernal place."

"Belle, please, he's not worth it."

"It's not just about him," she argued, resisting the urge to tell him that he was the last person on earth to be the judge of who was and was not worth any kind of happy ending or eternal peace. A snap like that wouldn't help them. Her information would. "Hook said when his brother moved on that it affected Hades somehow…weakened him. So, by helping people move on, maybe that's how we defeat Hades."

"And how exactly do you suppose we do that without magic?! Ask him nicely as he takes aim at both of us?!"

"I don't know?!" she yelled back. It was like the books in the pawn shop all over again! She was tired of being the only one actively working on this. But if her work was the only thing that was going to keep Gaston alive…she knew what his methods would be and how they would end. She had to be the one to think through this. "Alright well…he's still here, and the others have helped people here move on-"

"Yeah, and they've painted a target on their back doing it."

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "You've already promised our child to Hades, I'd say we've already got a target on our backs, Rumple. What more do we have to lose?!" He didn't say anything, he didn't even try to have the last word or fight her accusation. Finally, she had rendered him speechless. And for good reason. She knew what he was talking about, she remembered what the others had said about the graveyard and their names on tombstones. But she could also remember what Robin Hood had said. If Hades did rebel, if he hated what she would do and decided to place her name on a tombstone…well at least their child didn't have a name yet. Their child would be safe. And if she was trapped here then that only gave her more time to figure out how to defeat Hades deal and save their child. Imprisonment in hell so her baby could have a normal, safe, and free life. She was willing to do that for this child, for her child. Everything really had turned on it's head.

"The other's stories prove that it is possible to find something beyond this place once problems are worked through. Gaston is still here so he must have some unfinished business. We'll figure out what that is and either help him finish it or help him to let it go."

A small muscle twitched in his jaw as he took a step closer to her. "That still doesn't answer the question of how we do that without an arrow striking us first."

Yes, that was a problem. In all the time that she'd known Gaston she'd never gotten him to really open up and talk to her about anything particularly deep. In fact she'd always believed that he was one of the most shallow men she'd ever known because she could never find anything that he really seemed to care about except himself, his appearance, and hunting. If Archie were here he'd have some advice for getting someone to talk but she just wasn't sure that she could get him to talk about something this sensitive while he was "firing arrows" as Rumple had said. No, they had to have some kind of upper hand in this. And staring at Rumple she knew exactly what she was going to do.

"We use a spell to take us to his home, to the place he spends his time, he has to have something around that might point us in the right direction.

"Well a spell like that requires something of the victims."

She nodded, ignoring his choice of words as she stepped up to him. "Fortunately for us you grabbed something of his on the way out," she pointed out lifting the hand that was clutched around the arrow Gaston had fired at them.

Rumple only smirked. "So, I can use magic to snoop, but not to actually stop the problem."

"This will stop the problem," she assured him. "Besides, I'm only asking for a simple Locating Enchantment. It's neither light nor dark, remember?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry again this is just another example of how the chapters here really are just super choppy. There was a lot of movement in this episode, and whenever that happens, the chapters tend to come out short just because there are natural break points. But some of the breakpoints are actually pretty stupid and pointless, as I will point out by the end of this week. Honestly, I don't even think A&E think about where they place their characters after this episode. They just want it to look cool. I suppose they are doing that, but I'd much rather them go for accuracy than "cool factor".
> 
> Big thank you goes to Taisch for the comments on this fiction and really also just for sticking it out this long with me. Honestly, the way this half of the season went I didn't think I'd have any readers by now. Frankly, I'm worried that when ML&U goes live (the 6A fiction) I also won't have any readers. It's not really fun to relive the moments that are really painful, but it means a lot to me that you've stuck it out and stayed with me. Peace and Happy Reading!


	30. Their Unfinished Business

With irritation and malice, Rumple enchanted the arrow just as she asked him to. He took her hand, placed the object on her palm, and informed her that it would now point her in the right direction, perfectly balanced. They followed where it pointed, at a reasonable pace. Away from the docks, down an alley, and finally it brought them back out onto Main Street, and after looking carefully, both ways to make sure that Gaston was no longer around, they stepped out, still cautiously, into the street. She excepted it to simply take them through Main Street and into an apartment building or a home of some kind, but instead, just past La Tandoor, or at least this world's version of it, the arrow abruptly began to turn again and pointed at next door. She tested it a few times, walked passed and away, but each time it pointed only to the door.

"The Pet Shelter," she blanched confused. "Do you think we need to go through it?" Rumple didn't reply, he merely opened the door and ushered her inside. The arrow in her hand began to spin and turn uncontrollably, pointing everywhere at once. "What does that mean?" she questioned.

Rumple stepped up beside her and waved his hand over the arrow so that it stopped its movements, the took it from her, and burned it in his hand, ensuring that it couldn't do any more damage. "It means we're in the right place. Look…" she followed his motion up to a small plaque on the front desk. "Current Proprietor: Gaston LeGume".

She nodded her head in understanding as the sound of dogs barking met her ears. It figured. He always was proud of the animals that he used for hunting but never really cared for. It was only proper that in death he was a slave to them instead of the other way around. And some unknown unfinished business of course, but that was about to change.

"Okay," she breathed stepping forward and quickly looking around. "We're safe; he's not here. Now we just have to find whatever it is that is holding him back and keeping him from moving on. She started with the desk. The entire place was filthy, but shelves and surfaces were just as untidy. Papers sat everywhere. Old letters, maps, information on animals, even bills. Apparently, even people in the Underworld were expected to pay their bills and taxes! Though one look and she knew that they weren't exactly fair. She went to the front desk, searched through files, opened drawers and even scoured through notebooks to find the answer and Rumple…

Rumpelstiltskin stayed right where he was, looking around the room they were in disgust. "What are you waiting for, help me!" she demanded moving on to another paper-infested spot.

"How exactly are scraps of papers supposed to get us a glimpse into the workings of your former fiancé's mind?" he questioned instead.

"It'll give us a hint…trust me; he's shallow, anything that is keeping a man like that here is going to be kept close to him at all times. Look for handwriting, a note, something with his name on it, or something that doesn't belong…"

"With a wave of my hand, I could find you something."

"Or you could not use your magic and still help me!"

He sighed with frustration but didn't exactly start helping her either. Content to say this room was clear she moved onto another one. He followed, but still, he kept his hands folded in front of him and didn't lift a finger to assist her.

"Belle, you don't need to do this to find his unfinished business," he began again as she turned to search through another drawer. "I know what it is…killing me."

"What?! No, I don't accept that! You can't judge someone without knowing their full story," she dismissed. Wasn't that why she'd fallen in love with him in the first place? Because she knew that you couldn't know what was in a person's heart until you really knew them?! She didn't know what was in his heart anymore, she knew what she hoped was in there, what she thought he was turning away from and denying himself, but it didn't matter. What she knew for a fact was that if Rumple deserved her consideration so long ago, then Gaston deserved it now.

She glanced around the small kitchen she was in, searching for another drawer or closet or…better! "Here! Gaston's locker," she exclaimed walking over to it. It was easy enough to find it was the only one with a name on it…and a lock. Which was locked because nothing in this realm was ever going to be easy. "Uh…can you uh…can you magic this open for me?" she asked nicely. He hadn't helped at all this was the least he could do.

"Oh I certainly can, are you sure you want me to?" he questioned.

"Of course I'm sure, why wouldn't I be?" she asked trying to maintain her composure as he looked something or other over. She was getting really tired of his attitude. He could do with a dash of humility, but that was unlikely so long as that curse was affecting him like this and so long as he refused to acknowledge it.

"Well, using my powers to steal another man's property, doesn't that qualify as 'Dark Magic.'"

And just like that, she'd lost the rest of her patience. "This isn't murder; we're opening a locker!"

"Oh, so you get to be the judge of when the ends justify the means, I see…as I said, it's all about points of view."

She opened her mouth to respond but had no words for this man. It wasn't as if she was planning on keeping what she found and as far as judges went it was better her than him!

Nevertheless, she tried not to think about it as he snapped his fingers and the lock vanished. "Thank you," she breathed, offering a smile in return for his blatant hostility, then she turned and opened the locker with a hard tug.

It smelled awful inside. She didn't want to know what caused that exactly but Lacey told her it was something that every locker that belonged to a male possessed. She ignored the smell and searched on. Jacket. Thermos. Lunch. Coffee. Newspaper. Book.

Book?

That was hardly like the Gaston she'd known. She pulled it out, expecting it to actually be something unimportant but when she saw the cover-

"This!" she exclaimed looking it over. Her heart nearly stopped as she pulled it off the shelf. _Her Handsome Hero._ Her book? Or her favorite one at least. The one that she'd given him years ago? The one that was destroyed when the ogres invaded? No, it hadn't been her copy or even her mother's just one that the library had on hand but…she'd given it to Gaston to read. To understand it more. He was keeping it here? Why? It couldn't be…her?! "I'm his unfinished business!"

She was it? But…but that was so unlike Gaston! She had no idea what his life was like after she'd gone away, but she'd always suspected that it was much the same as what it was before they were engaged. She figured that as much as her father liked him, he would have found someone else to marry and gotten everything he wanted from his land and her land. But…but that wasn't what her father had told her. She tried to remember, tried to think back to what she'd learned in that conversation long ago, but it was only one conversation! One of many! What had her father told her? He…he'd left the castle in search of her and never come back. His horse had been found not long after in a field close by. She'd assumed that he'd gotten himself killed but…had that been when Rumple killed him? And now…

Her thoughts were scattered. This was difficult to believe! She hadn't meant anything to him! They'd tried, of course, both of them had, they'd tried to make it all work, but it had always been clear they were never really crazy for each other. Maybe he'd come after her, and maybe he'd cared enough because he considered her his own or maybe for his pride, but…it wasn't possible that she'd actually meant this much to him, that he would spend all this time here alone pining for her? She'd never know if she never asked.

"I'll uh…I'll wait for him. You should go." He gave her a stubborn look of disbelief, the one that said he didn't want to be away from her when this happened, and frankly she was the same, but…she'd always had some small fear of Gaston. Somewhere in the back of her mind she always thought that even if she had found him alive and well she would have brought Rumple or her father with her to check on him. But another memory surfaced now, it was one of that afternoon. Gaston hadn't threatened her, only him. There was no reason to be scared. She just had to make him see reason. "Trust me, I-I can get through to him."

Rumple nodded finally, that same confident nod that he'd always given her when she wanted to do something crazy. It was just one more confusion to add on top of all this. When he let his true emotions win he was a man again, the man that she sawbehindthe beast, the man that loved her and their child, the man that believed she could do anything. The man that was going to trust her to do anything. If they could solve this problem with Gaston then maybe there was a chance she could get through to him. It wasn't much, but it was exactly what she'd always had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just...I can't even. This scene and the next one. There is so much wrong with the two of them I don't even know where to begin. For starters, I hope that I fixed something that is a major flaw in the series, but I can't really blame the writers for, and that is just effort. It always annoys me that Belle walks into a room with a question, picks something up, and gets the answer right on her first try. I suppose I can't blame the writers for that, after all, they are working with a very specific and short amount of time for their story, they don't exactly have time for trial and error. But it never ceases to bug me. So, looking around the front office first and not finding anything, that is my own little rebellion against that. I'm a little insistent. The other thing here, I hope I got the character of both of these characters right for the scene. Personally, they both irritated the crap out of me so mostly I just wrote what pissed me off and it seemed to work. I tried to make it so that Belle was hypocritical, whiney, and even a little bitchy, and I for Rumple I really tried to maintain that cool, elitist attitude he had. I'm hopeful that I succeeded, but for the first time in writing this series, I'm afraid I did not. (Yes, I'm aware of the can of worms that comment will open up and no, I can't believe I'm doing it.) The rest of my complaints I will leave for the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you, Deweymay, for your comments on the last chapter. There are some really interesting opinions about this episode. Some really liked it, others thought it was terrible, and others just "meh". I suppose I'm in the middle with "meh". I'm very unhappy these days with most Rumbelle episodes. I imagine that won't be changing anytime soon. I dare not even hope for what is coming in 6B. Every time I write "it can't get worse", it gets worse. And on that happy note, Peace and Happy Reading!


	31. A Devil's Temptation

She sat there in the Pet Shelter for an indistinguishable amount of time, waiting, anticipating the return of the man she'd once known, unable to take her eyes off the book she'd found in his locker. Alone. Oh, she had no doubt that Rumple was out there somewhere, watching the building, waiting to overhear their conversation because she was sure that the man who barely trusted her with her friends wasn't going to trust her with someone like Gaston. But it didn't matter to her so long as he kept his distance. She didn't watch the clock, she didn't wonder about time, she just sat there, breaking into a cold sweat, and looking down at her book.

She had no idea what would become of this conversation. If it would help, if it wouldn't, if she could really get him to put their past behind him and encourage him to move on? If she could weaken Hades at a time when it really might help not just her but also her friends. She didn't know any of that. She just knew that she had to try.

Finally, she noticed the noise, the dogs barking more than they had before and in a certain direction. Behind her. Her stomach twisted into knots but she instinctually looked behind her and heard footsteps.

"Gaston?" she called out. The last thing she wanted was to surprise a man carrying an arrow laced with the River of Souls. "Is that you?"

"Getting colder!" came a voice from behind the wall.

Colder. That voice certainly did unexplainable chill her blood. That wasn't Gaston. No, the person who came through the door was older. His hair was graying, he was dressed in a nice suit that rivaled one of Rumpelstiltskin's with a formal looking coat on top, and he was the only one down here, other than her friends of course, who didn't look like he was lost or out of place. Or dead.

Hades.

"What do you want from me?" she questioned, suddenly wondering if she was right and Rumple was nearby. Would it do any good to call him for help? He'd gotten Rumple to make a portal because of the contract on their baby, right now that contract was as good as Hades possessing the dagger, maybe even worse. It controlled both of them, not just Rumple.

"You mean other than that baby? In your belly?"

She took a step back and nearly burst into tears. It was true. It was all true. She'd heard it and from the lips of Rumpelstiltskin and dreaded it but hearing it from Hades! It was true. He…he really did want this child. And now…now he'd come for it. She'd sent Rumple away and now he'd take her and-

Hades let out a small short laugh. "Relax," he insisted. "I'm not going to hurt either one of you, actually…" he gave a dramatic sigh as he walked into the room and she wished that she wasn't backed up against the wall. "I'd like to help. How would you like to make a deal?"

She wasn't sure how she was able to find her voice, let alone the irony in what he'd said. One deal after another. Wasn't that why she was here? Because she'd made one too many deals in her lifetime? "I married a man who makes deals, I know what that means," she could hear the fear in her own voice, feel it in the way that she wasn't moving anymore save for the small shake in her legs. But somehow she found the courage to turn him down. "Not interested."

"What about what your father used to say? 'Don't judge someone, until you know their whole story'," he snapped back at her.

Now she was absolutely tingling. How did he know that? How did he know that?! Her father had told her that, but not for years! He'd been reading her a bedtime story when she'd announced she hoped the bad character would die and her father had rebuked her with that warning. Her mother was the one who had taken that sentiment and told her that she couldn't know a person until she knew their heart but her father…he was the one to say it originally. He couldn't have guessed that! Even she came to admit as the years passed that it was a moment she never would have expected from that man!

"How did you know that?" she questioned timidly.

Hades scoffed at the question. "I know lots of things," he corrected moving closer. "Perk of the job. Like you're trying to help Gaston move on…"

She swallowed at the declaration, but tried not to let on that she was fearful or even anxious at his closeness or his news. She had to be a hero now, for her child, there was nothing more noble. His knowledge didn't change anything. And besides, if he was here, worrying about Gaston, then he wasn't worrying about the portal that Regina was working on up in the library. "And so what if I am?" she dared.

"Oh, let's just say I like this little conflict between Gaston and Rumple and want it to go on."

That was unexpected. What was he doing? He already had their baby in his back pocket? What was he playing at? And what did he think he'd accomplish coming to her?

"And what could you possibly offer…me?" she questioned, not out of actual interest in the deal he was presenting her with, no! More out of curiosity. Would she get more answers this way?

"Oh nothing much, just the thing you want most in the world." Suddenly he reached out, and pressed a hand, chilled she could feel even through her many layers, to her stomach. She tried to ignore the sudden urge she had to vomit. She really didn't want him anywhere near this child! Or her. But suddenly she knew his offer, and her interest had peaked. "Your baby," he whispered menacingly. "Got your attention now, don't I?"

"I'm listening." As much as she didn't want to listen, this child came first. If he offered her any kind of sensible deal she had to listen.

"Smart girl," he commented finally taking his cold hands off of her and stepping away. "Because this is the easiest deal in the world. All you have to do is let Rumpelstiltskin face Gaston. If one of them throws the other into the River of Souls…I'll take the mark off your baby."

Her jaw dropped open.

The River of Souls, the thing that Rumple had just told her would kill him or trap him for all eternity! And he wanted, he actually thought that she'd just stand back and let these two evil men face off and let one trap the other!

"No," she said taking a big breath. She couldn't do it, she wouldn't. She couldn't let her child's freedom come at the cost of another, especially not the possibility of his father! And it was more than that! She knew how these deals worked. Hades wouldn't be offering this to her if he wasn't worried. Her plan to defeat him by helping Gaston move on...this meant it had merit! He was nervous she'd succeed! "I swore I'd help Gaston move on, and I keep my word."

"Now that is such a nice…sentiment, but take it from me," Hades chuckled as he moved away from her, "love makes you do crazy things."

Love. There was that word again. Love and Zelena. She'd put love in his heart and she took it away. The books in the library about other gods had been burned as if in anger, other stories stored safely, but Zelena and her tale…had she been right about that too? Was there something between the two of them.

"I bet, with your child on the line, you are capable of…anything." He stopped at the door and looked her over with a look she didn't care for, like he knew there was something more to her than heroism. Her heart was racing, not out of anger because he was wrong. It was because she was afraid he was right. "Let me know if you change your mind!" he called leaving the room and leaving her in a state of utter and overwhelming disbelief and just as confused as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is such a short drawn out chapter. I felt it was appropriate given the fact that the scene was also short and drawn out. I wanted it to have that very slow "I'm thinking about a million things in the course of a minute and a half" kind of feeling!
> 
> Thank you to Taisch and Deweymay for your comments on the last chapter. Much appreciated. You are all awesome to always come up with something nice to say whether or not you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you for those wonderful gifts! Peace and Happy Reading.


	32. All Monsters Have A Weakness

In the wake of Hades her mouth felt dry and she fell back into the chair that she'd been sitting in, shaking. He was gone, but his words remained. She was doing the right thing, wasn't she? Turning down his deal?

What was she thinking, of course she was doing the right thing!

But was the "right thing" in the eyes of all humanity the "right thing" for her family. She didn't want to be questioning that. It only proved Rumple right that it really was all about perspective. And-

No! No, she didn't know why she was paying this so much heed. Of course this wasn't the right thing for her family. She didn't want her child's life to come at the cost of Gaston's final peace. That wasn't the right thing for her, and it certainly wasn't the right thing for their child. And speaking of Gaston…

She'd waited long enough. He still hadn't come back. And as she sat there, Her Handsome Hero in her sights and the sound of the dogs barking in her ears, she suddenly understood why. Of course he hadn't come back here. He was hunting. And she, most certainly, was not his prey. There was no reason for him to return so long as…so long as Rumpelstiltskin wasn't with her. But she couldn't keep him with her! She had to talk to him without the risk of Rumple being killed! Or the risk or Rumple killing him in defense...or just because he felt like it. She needed a new plan, one that would work. It wasn't just about her now; it was about defeated Hades as well.

So, the question was, how did she get Gaston alone?

The answer was easy enough. She'd think like the hunter himself. She'd set a trap for him. And she knew how to do it. "Rumple!" she called grabbing the book and rising from the chair. "Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin!"

"You don't need to yell for a summoning to work," he muttered, suddenly standing calmly behind her. She knew he'd come if she called.

"I need you to do something for me," she explained. "Gaston hasn't come back yet."

"Naturally, he's hunting me not you."

"Exactly, so we need to set a trap for him. Go out, find Gaston, and lead him to the shop, I can talk to him there!" Because after what had just happened she didn't want to spend another minute in this store! She needed to be somewhere safe and familiar. Besides, if she wanted to hunt the hunter, she needed the advantage of knowing where she was.

"No," Rumple refused before she could explain her reasoning.

"No? Rumple, you don't understand, I have a plan!"

"And suddenly my own safety is of no concern to you?! You want me to play cat and mouse with him, but something I notice about cat and mouse is the mouse usually winds up dead! What if he shoots?!"

She sighed. "Of course I'm worried about your safety," she assured him suddenly aware of how awful she'd sounded. She did care. Truly, she did care. If she forfeited her love of Rumpelstiltskin in her desire to free Gaston, then it was all for naught, but she was also aware that Rumple wasn't exactly a normal mouse. Mice couldn't normally disappear in a puff of smoke when the cat cornered them. "The whole reason we're doing this is because of your safety, but I know that you would never let something happen to you. You'd disappear before Gaston took you down. I trust that you can do this, that you can safely lead Gaston to the shop where I can talk to him, we can get Gaston to move on, weaken Hades, and figure out a way to save our child," she breathed looking at him desperately.

Of course, she knew that it wasn't the only way, but she couldn't tell him about what Hades had said. She just couldn't.

Without a bit of softness to his features, he stepped closer to her. "You have fifteen minutes. And Belle…the only reason I'm doing this is for our child." And with those words, he vanished from her sight. She stood there silently only for a minute or so before she managed to snap out of it and remember that she had to leave this place for the plan to work. Good. After her last encounter, she wasn't exactly itching to stay in this place.

She left the shelter and walked across the street and back down to the beat-up old Pawn Shop and stopped dead in her tracks when she spied something that she hadn't when she'd first arrived.

Breathless she walked over to the pedestal before her and delicately picked up her chipped cup. So far, she'd managed not to shed a tear over the people who were here, and she'd managed not to go looking for people that she knew might be here, like her mother or her Grandmother, but at the sight of this teacup she felt herself sniffle and struggle to stifle back the tears she'd felt that night on the road when he'd told her he'd been forced to break the cup to free himself. It was ridiculous, she knew it then, and she knew it now, but somehow this teacup had always been a part of her. Seeing it here, in the Underworld, after all, that she'd been through…she felt like a bit of her own soul was here. Was it possible, she wondered, to simply take this artifact back with her? Or should it remain here, sitting on a pedestal without any chance of survival? She'd always looked at that chipped cup as if it was their relationship, her and Rumple. They'd always been a bit flawed but still perfect and beautiful, certainly useable, nonetheless. Could their relationship be salvaged from this place like her teacup? Or was it doomed to remain here in the Underworld? Dead and gone.

She sniffled one last time and set it back where it belonged. This wasn't the time for questions like this. Every moment she spent on her and Rumpelstiltskin was a moment taken away from their child! She had to remain focused. Gaston would be here soon, and she…she would be…

In the back! It was perfect. She'd lure him into the back room, somewhere quiet, where she could shut the door, and they could talk and-

Before she made her way into the back something caught her eye. It was a mannequin.

It was just a passing thought, but suddenly that mannequin seemed like the greatest idea she'd ever had. She wanted to know; she had to see if it was possible that Gaston could be saved. Or if he was just as awful as Rumple thought he was. The Gaston she remembered wasn't exactly a great man, but still, he'd had his limits. He'd thought so little of other creatures, creatures that couldn't help him in any way…but she'd never thought he would ever resort to actually killing another man. Rumple was cursed, she couldn't deny that, and she wasn't even going to try. It was bad. Possibly even worse than before. But he was still a man. At least to her. Would he really hunt his prey down like a dog? This was the easiest way to test that. Not to mention, if it was true and he'd be on edge, it was the easiest way to disarm him.

With her remaining time, she grabbed the mannequin and set it on the table in the back room with its back to the curtain. She found a wig that didn't quite match his hair, but she figured in the low light it would be convincing for a moment and then grabbed scissors and roughly cut it to the desired length. Then she found a suit jacket and threw it over the plastic shoulders. It wasn't much, but she figured that Gaston would be primed to pop by the time he got here, and it would fool him just long enough for her to know just how far gone he really was.

As if on cue the bell in the front of the shop jingled, but the quick footsteps told her not to panic. It was Rumple. "He's on his way," he breathed before his eyes caught sight of the doll she'd set up so haphazardly. "Wouldn't it just be easier for me to kill him?"

She didn't snap at him for that comment, in fact, if anything it made her smirk. He wasn't being serious; it was only a joking response to what she'd set up. He was funny, that was something she'd fallen in love with so long ago. "No," she responded. "I just…I have to know. You should go before he gets back here." He didn't reply to that, just looked skeptical at her slip shot job. "Please Rumple, you've already denied me the closure I needed with Anna, the least you can do is allow me this."

"Fine," he growled. A second later he snapped his fingers, and when she looked at the mannequin, she realized it was fully dressed and that the hair matched far better this time around. "I'll go, but you should know I'll be close by. For our child, I lured him here, but if it wasn't for you…I'd never allow this," he said sneaking up close and speaking into her ear. She heard him. But she wasn't sure if she should be terrified and panicked or relieved. The message was clear. He lured him here for her child, but he was only going along with this plan for her. That was good, great really! She just didn't like the fact that he was back to using terms like "allowed", terms he'd only ever used in the castle when she'd been his property. That was something to be fixed later.

For now, he was gone, disappeared in yet another cloud of smoke which was frustrating all on its own because she really didn't see what the harm was in walking two steps to use the back door like a civilized person. But in the front room, she heard the bell over the door chime once more. She also heard footsteps.

Quickly, and as quietly as possible, she took a few steps to hide herself from him, but also chose a place that she could easily watch what happened. Rumple wasn't the only one who knew this store inside and out. From her vantage point, she was well hidden, and she could see not only the mannequin but also an arrowhead that appeared between the curtains. Slowly the bulk of Gaston appeared behind it. She held her breath and watched then as he spotted the mannequin, prayed that something good might come of this, that he'd show her mercy, something, anything, worth believing in! Then she watched him shoot what he believed was her husband in the back without any warning.

Worse.

The moment the "corpse" hit the floor and he lowered his weapon, he laughed.

Maybe Gaston was too far gone. She watched as he meandered over to the body to inspect it. "I guess every beast has its weakness," he growled before glancing down at it. His confidence faltered. She could see it in his shoulders, the exact moment he knew that it wasn't over.

"So you would really kill him, if you had the chance," she stated stepping forth from her hiding spot. "I wasn't sure if you had it in you." She'd hoped he wouldn't. But clearly-

He took a deep, frustrated breath that was nearly a growl. "This is pointless, Belle," he whispered reaching down to retrieve his arrow. "Where is Rumpelstiltskin?!" he shouted moving away from the body.

"Gaston, please stop this!"

"I can't!" he yelled slamming his hands down onto the table. Finally, he looked up at her so that she could see his eyes and she saw the exact same thing in them that she'd seen in the street what felt like hours ago. Anger. Hatred. A hunter. Which of those things was worse? "Seeing him dead is the only thing I care about anymore," he stressed through clenched teeth.

"Are you sure about that?" she questioned. With little more introduction she stepped forward and dropped the book down on the table before him.

He hardly winced. But there was a pause, something in the air at the sudden presence of the book. It was important. "You broke into my locker?" he accused. His chest was visibly heaving as he breathed and she remembered that as a bad thing. She'd spent so little time with Gaston but there were a few things that she'd managed to pick up on in their time together. That kind of breathing meant he was angry. Then again if someone broke into her locker and stole something precious she'd probably be angry too.

"Gaston, I want to help you move on. If you still have this book, it…must mean something to you," she pressed.

"Of course it does," he snapped. Okay. That was more attitude than she'd expected, he was suddenly far from the dashing flirt she'd known when she'd given it to him, but at least they were making progress.

"Is it because I gave it to you?" she questioned. "Am I your unfinished business?"

He stared her down and took a step closer. In their time together in her father's castle that would have meant that she took two steps away, but she resisted the urge. This was alright. Things were going to work out. "You think I have this book…because I like it?" he asked as though it was an absurd presumption. Suddenly she was feeling a lot less sure of herself. "I've tried to throw this out a hundred times, a-a thousand. It always re-reappears," he explained almost painfully. "It's part of my punishment down here."

She took a breath and tried to keep calm. Just because things hadn't gone the way she'd anticipated didn't mean that they were going awfully. So the book was part of his punishment. How? "I don't understand."

"This book reminds me why I died. Because you made me weak!" he exclaimed suddenly slamming it into the table.

"What? Me?"

He pushed papers off the small table as he strode away from her, angry, suddenly violent. "I should have gone after Rumpelstiltskin with an army, but I tried to follow your example. I tried to do what is right, but that book is wrong. Being a hero is not about compassion and having forgiveness. It's about strength! Doing whatever it takes to defeat your enemies!" he screamed rounding on her.

And his enemy now was Rumple?! Didn't he see how absurd that was?! Rumple may have killed him, and he was certainly going to answer for that, but Rumple wasn't keeping him down here, Rumple didn't even want to throw him in the River of Souls as Hades did! He'd just wanted to…well she didn't know what he wanted to do but it was better than what Hades wanted.

"But Rumple isn't even your real enemy. Hades is!" He had to see that!

"Why do you defend Rumpelstiltskin?" he demanded, pacing back and forth like a tiger in a cage. "He kidnapped you. He made you a servant. You should want him dead, too!"

"Yeah, well, I don't!" she shouted back.

"Why not?" he demanded.

Why not? Wasn't that the ultimate question. She'd never wanted him dead, not ever, not even in the beginning of their relationship not even after she'd discovered his plot to murder the entire town! But how could she explain all that to Gaston? How could she tell him that the reason Hades wanted him dead was because of her baby? Their baby? She didn't know how to explain it to someone like Gaston, not the Gaston she'd known and not the Gaston that she saw now. To him, less complicated was always better.

"He's my husband," she admitted boldly but still gently at the same time. She didn't know the status of their relationship. Was it as dead as her chipped cup or simply struggling for air? She didn't know, and she didn't care. Right now, he was still her husband. And he'd always be the father of her child no matter what.

Across from her Gaston's eyes widened in surprise. Yes. The news was shocking. But at least after her father, she knew that it could never be handled worse. She expected yelling, screaming, insulting and horrible remarks, but instead what she got was a chuckle of disbelief. "Good, old Belle," he whispered after a moment. "You always did have a soft spot for a monster." And with that he collected his weapons and left the room, leaving the book behind on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is the chapter were there are so many things wrong it just...it drives me crazy. The first half of this, in my opinion, totally a missing scene. This was one example of how they just do things for the sake of looking "cool" but don't ever explain them. Belle says "I'm going to wait here for Gaston", "here" being the Pet Shop, so why is it she is waiting for him in the Pawn Shop?! And why is Gaston hunting Rumple in the pawn shop only to stumble upon Belle, if he's the great hunter that he is? There was clearly something that the writers left out between here and there! And the mannequin thing...not a OUAT peeve for me, just a peeve. Seriously, has anyone ever tried to dress those things? Not easy. It takes much longer than you'd think. I really doubt Belle could put one together that perfectly matches Rumple while she's waiting for Gaston to show up. Honestly, the writers just don't do this show justice sometimes.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	33. Slips of the Tongue

She stood stunned after Gaston left, looking down on the book that she'd been so wrong about. It would have been so easy to let him go, to simply avoid him for the rest of their time down here, because the truth was that getting a man to move on when they harbored so much hate in their heart was difficult. She should know, she was married to Rumpelstiltskin!

But the chime of the bell on the front door shook her from her stupor. Of course it would be easy to let Gaston go. What wouldn't be easy was the hunt that would follow. She could let him go, but he wouldn't let Rumpelstiltskin go. And since when did she ever back down from a challenge just because it was difficult?! Getting their child back was going to be difficult, but she didn't want to give up. Getting Rumple to once more see reason in the curse he'd gotten back wasn't going to be easy. But that didn't mean she'd stop fighting for the man she saw beneath the beast! He was flawed, but so was she. And Gaston was too.

"Gaston!" she called setting the book down and quickly running after him. "Gaston! Wait!" she called slamming out of the shop and finding him attempting to cross the street. "Gaston! Please, listen to me!"

"Stay away from that beast Belle, you'll only get hurt!"

"I've been hurt by him more times than you can imagine!" she shouted, struggling to breath as she ran alongside of him. "But I won't give up on him and I won't give up on you."

"Neither am I."

"But you acting like-whoa!"

Gaston had suddenly and without warning turned on his heel and drawn an arrow. An arrow that was now pointed at her chest. She stopped in her footsteps of course and held her hands in the air, unsure of what to do for that brief moment of shock before she finally took stalk of what was happening.

"What are…are you going to kill me too?" she questioned. "I already know for a fact you don't have that in you." Or at least she was hoping that she knew. There had been plenty of disagreements between the two of them, and plenty of opportunities to murder her if he really wanted to, back in the Pawn shop was a perfect example. But she could also remember the moment that she'd gone after the baby ogre, the first day they'd met. She'd stood before the ogre, and he hadn't fired, not at her. At least she hoped that was what held him back then…and now.

"Oh, but I've changed," he growled quickly. "And how I wish I'd had it in me so long ago. Perhaps then my life would have been spared."

She swallowed back tears that his cruel words had stirred. She never would have thought him capable of that. "My father would have had you arrested on the spot," she pointed out.

"And my own would have rescued me from his clutches. There would have been war and we would have conquered your Kingdom. I'd be a King today instead of a dead, pathetic soul. You don't think I've thought through everything I could have done differently in my time here, every possible decision that led me to this wretched place?"

Clearly, she had underestimated a lot of things today. "Why can't we just talk about this," she plead one more time.

But instead Gaston finally lowered his arrow. "Go away Belle, there's nothing more you can say." She watched as he turned to leave and she put her hands down but…then he turned back around and the sneer on his face was anything but friendly. "But then again…perhaps you could be good for something. You never know, you might make good bait for a beast!"

Her heart raced as she watched him draw his arrow once more. "Rumpelstil-"

She was gone before she could even say the word once. She glanced around and found herself back on the docks, Rumple standing before her. She looked around, just to make sure that they were truly alone. Gaston was nowhere in sight. But her heart still raced, her breath still hitched as she tried to calm down and Rumple…

"You're okay," he cooed reaching out to hold her in his arms. "you're okay, you're safe from him." She was safe. They were here. He'd used magic to save them. She pushed back against his chest and took them in once more. "Oh, don't give me that look," he muttered suddenly letting her go. "You were calling me for help."

She couldn't deny that. She did call. Only she really hadn't. She hadn't gotten the name out to really summon, which could only mean one thing. "You were watching."

"And listening…from the top of the library. I told you I would stay close."

And so he had. But…the top of the library…

"Emma and Killian were on the roof of the library," she recalled, remembering that they'd gone there to keep watch last night after they'd eaten and Regina had her spell.

"Well I guess they left," Rumple suggested.

They left. That was a good sign. That was better than she expected! The only reason that they'd not be in the library anymore would be if the plan had worked! It worked! They'd made it into Hades' lair! And she'd already seen Hades out and about…maybe it had worked better than she thought! Hades was so distracted by her that they had the opportunity to search his lair for something more to destroy him. Another saved soul, no matter how difficult the saving, might be exactly what they all needed right now! It might be the nail in the coffin!

"We have to go back!" she realized pulling on his arm. "I knew I was right, I knew I shouldn't take that deal! We have to go back and find Gaston, we have to help him!"

"What deal?" he questioned firmly planting his feet right where he was.

Suddenly she felt her insides go cold. The deal. She didn't want him to find out about that deal. She couldn't let him! "Nothing, not important. We should go." She attempted once more to pull him away but he just wouldn't budge

"Belle, he almost killed you, I'm not taking you back to him without good reason. What deal?!"

"I thought you were listening."

"I was and I didn't hear anything about a deal...Belle!"

"It wasn't Gaston!" she finally admitted. It was too late to rectify the mistake she'd made and he was too smart to let it go. "It was Hades."

"Hades?" he breathed looking down at her with equal parts fear and anger. "Hades offered you a deal?"

"Yes, but it doesn't matter because I didn't take it and we need to help Gaston."

"I'm not letting you anywhere near him, not after what just happened."

"Rumple-"

"He threatened your life and that of our unborn child, I won't allow it!"

"You don't understand," she yelled back tugging on his arm. And there was no need to be so dramatic, she knew what Gaston had done and he hadn't threatened their child. But they could save their child if they acted quickly. "Emma and the others, they are looking for a way to destroy him, they are in his lair right now, looking for a weakness, we can help them by helping Gaston move on, weakening him further."

"Or we can help our unborn child and leave them to their fool's errand. What did Hades offer you? You wouldn't avoid it if it wasn't important. What kind of a deal?" he demanded.

"Look, I can't...it doesn't matter because I said no," she repeated. She wasn't about to tell him because she knew what he'd do with it! And she'd told him it didn't matter before, why didn't he trust her?

"Take it from a man who trades in deals. It matters very much. What was the deal, Belle?"

Of course, it did! She didn't deny that the deal was important she was just skeptical of letting Rumpelstiltskin know what it was! He'd lie! He'd deceive! She knew what would happen! She would tell him what the deal was and he'd be gone, off to enact it before the words left her lips! Or…or he might not. He was a man of deals and promises; she'd learned long ago how to craft her words so that he couldn't find loopholes to exploit. Of course, he usually did. But that was usually her fault. She hadn't been careful enough. But this one seemed straight forward. What would it take for her to tell him? To stop hiding secrets? To be on their side for once instead of both of them fighting each other alone? It was simple. All it took was a promise.

"Look, I tell you, you've got to promise me something," she breathed desperately. "You have to promise me you won't hurt Gaston…no matter what you learn."

"Belle, you can trust me," he assured her gently.

Could she? Could she really trust him? Because it seemed like lately every time she trusted him he'd betrayed that trust. The question she had to ask herself was who she was talking to? Rumpelstiltskin? Or the beast? And even worse. Which was the father of her child? Was this a question she was willing to answer with what came out of her mouth next? Should she be optimistic once more and see if what he'd told her was true? There was only one way to find out.

"All right," she breathed. "He said that if I…let you and Gaston face each other and one of you ends up in the River of Souls…he'll then tear up the contract on our baby."

She held her ground, preparing for the anger that she was positive would follow her pronouncement because she knew what he'd want to do but she also knew what he'd promised her. He wouldn't be happy about it. And yet what greeted her wasn't anger. It was a look of utter disbelief as he stood there and took not one but several deep breaths. Yes, he was angry. She could see that on his face, that for the first time in her memory turned red and even in the way that he avoided her eyes for a moment.

"And you turned him down," he finally managed to choke out with a hint of malice in his voice. No, he didn't understand. It was the right thing to do. They could fix this! So long as Hades was distracted, they had the upper hand.

"Of course I did! I failed once with Gaston, but I can fix this," she assured him. She could. She really could. She already knew that she could, they just needed a little bit of time and then she knew that Hades would be so weak he'd beg them to take their child!

"Belle," Rumple sighed sadly reaching out and touching her arm. He was disappointed. She understood that, but that wasn't what mattered to her. "What Merlin said about a man that can control dark for good... I really want to be that man for you. Truly. Just... not today."

And then he did the worst possible thing that he could have done. He took a couple of steps away from her, waved his hand, and disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, this stupid scene. I just...honestly! Have at it, because after this scene even I think Belle is the stupidest person in the entire world. She knows better! She knows what happens every time Rumpelstiltskin bats his eyelashes and says "trust me, Belle" and she still tells him anyway! He's done very little to earn her trust back, but she says "huh, I suppose I should give this trust thing a twentieth try" and then acts really upset when he does what he always does. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, then Belle is utterly crazy. Honestly, it's the most frustrating thing in the world, and after that act of stupidity, I have no problem laying everything that happens after this at her feet because she really shouldn't have told him about that deal. What happens after this is her fault. Plain and simple.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	34. Justifiable Ends

He was gone. Hades was gone. Gaston was gone. Rumple was gone! Why were people in her life constantly disappearing on her?!

It didn't matter right now. Because she knew what it meant if he was gone. And it wasn't good. Her jaw dropped and she let out a gasp of shock as she realized what was happening. He'd betrayed her yet again. He'd gone after Gaston. He'd promised he wouldn't and he still did. The same way he'd promised not to kill Regina, the same way he'd promised to take care of the drawing of Gaston, the same way he'd promised that she was the most important thing to him and then time and time again proved that what was important to him was maintaining his dark magic. The same way he'd promised this child was going to be safe. Of course it was going to be safe. But only because he'd forced her hand. This wasn't the way they should handle things! It just wasn't! Did any of that matter to him?

No. Of course it didn't. Because he was so deep into his curse he couldn't even see reason to fight it. He might not even be able to see a life outside of it at this point. She could. She still could see the man behind the beast, flaws and all, and she knew what he'd said in the library wasn't true. He wasn't meant to be this way. He was just afraid, now more than ever that he'd lose their child. And she was afraid of what he might do.

He was gone. What he might do wasn't a "might" it was a "would". Now that he was free she was afraid of what he would do. He'd kill Gaston. Just to get their child back. But it wasn't right-

She had to stop him. But how?! He was gone! Gaston was all the way over on Main Street, and she had heels! By the time she got there, he'd already be dead.

No! He wouldn't be dead. They'd be gone! After all the deal wasn't that Rumple would kill him, the deal was that Rumple would throw him into the River of Souls. The River of Souls…it fed into the harbor; he'd told her that only an hour or so ago. So…he'd bring him here. He'd gone to fetch Gaston and take him here, probably also by magic. They might be close by!

She could find them. And stop him. And-

No. She could find them, but stop him…

He wouldn't listen to words. He was so close to ridding the Underworld of Gaston and getting their child back; he wouldn't allow her to take the time to talk to Gaston, to get him to cross over, to weaken Hades, all so they could destroy him and get their child back the proper way. As far as he was concerned, there was no proper or improper way. There was only the result. Even if she got there in time, she wouldn't be able to stop him. Not even if she presented him with an ultimatum, not even if she-

Her skin began to tingle with the thought she'd just had. If she commanded him…

No, her words might not be enough, but a command said with the right tool in hand. She knew where it was; he'd showed her when she first arrived. He kept it on him now, in the inside breast pocket of his jacket! She wouldn't need to talk to him; she just needed to be able to get close enough to him that she could get control of the dagger and-

And order him not to kill Gaston? Was she actually considering this? She'd vowed the last time she'd used that dagger never to use it on him ever again. She'd been racked with guilt over it for days! Guilt that was unimportant in the end because she'd never actually had the dagger. He'd tricked her to uphold his lies.

Now wasn't the time to sit here and debate whether this was the right or wrong decision. Now was the time to act and worry about it later, after Gaston had been spared and moved on! Besides, as far as she was concerned, she'd already paid the price of guilt she hadn't deserved. Maybe it was time she deserve it.

They were at the docks. She knew they would be here somewhere and so she frantically began looking, searching for the two of them. It was harder than she thought it would be considering the docks were empty. But still, she ran as she searched the docks, trying her hardest to find them before it was too late. He wouldn't kill him right away. He always had to have the last word, to teach those he thought he was punishing their lesson. But that bought her minutes not hours. She had to be quick. Still, at every turn, every scan, every sight she took in none proved useful in finding the men! She was beginning to worry she'd already wasted too much time. That she was too late. She was so certain that he would be here, so certain that this would be where he brought Gaston. Her fear wasn't that she'd come to the wrong place, it was that it was too late and the deed was already done.

Would that be such a terrible thing? A horrible voice whispered in her head. All she had to do was make a wrong turn, all she had to do was not show up and…

What was she thinking? Of course, it would be a bad thing if she was too late! If Rumple threw Gaston into the River of Souls then yes, they might keep their baby but…at what cost?! This had the potential to be a great story to tell their child one day, a story of how they triumphed, of how they fought hell like hell to save them and did the right thing in the end! They could tell them then that it wasn't just their child but that they weakened the very god of death so much that they made it back alive, and so did their friends. His way they profited, her way and so many more would live! There was no question; she had to stop this. As fast as she-

There! She turned a corner and looked out at the dock, it was close to where she'd first seen the ship from Neverland return in their world! There was Rumpelstiltskin, his villainous black clothes and wavy hair unmistakable. Unfortunately, the hand he had raised in the air was also unmistakable. He was strangling someone. And from her view, she could see who it was all too easily. Gaston. He stood on the other side of the dock, right at the end, lifted easily two, three feet into the air, straining for air. Oh, she hadn't arrived a moment too soon!

"Rumple! Stop! Please," she called running out to the two of them. Now the hard part. She had to get that dagger from him. She knew that she had promised herself she'd never again do what she was about to do, but the way she saw it this was for him. "For all that we've shared, let me tell you one thing before you go through with this," she begged stepping between the two of them.

He didn't want her to. She could see that in his murderous eyes. Or maybe it was simply that he didn't want her to waste any more time or thought it wouldn't matter but she knew that it would! It had to. Whatever the reason, eventually he sighed and looked back up at Gaston, still struggling, suspended in mid-air.

"All right, Belle, what is it?"

She smiled and stepped closer to him, purposefully placing her hands on his chest, right next to the lapels on his jacket. She was the only one he'd ever really trust to get this close to him, at least without suspecting anything. And she was already choking on the words that she didn't have, upset for what was to come. But there was no choice. He'd given her no choice. She knew that things would work out if he just trusted her to do things her way. And if he wouldn't trust her…then she'd just have to do what needed to be done. It wasn't as if he'd never deceived her.

"I just want to tell you I-I have always known who you really are. And that's why I love you," she whispered. Then, without any further choked words or hesitations she reached forward and kissed him. There was passion. There always was, and she knew that there always would be, something special between the two of them. But this wasn't about their passion or chemistry or whatever she wanted to call it. Frankly, this wasn't even about their child at the moment. It was about what she felt in the front of his jacket pressed against her chest. She hadn't lied. She'd just made her choice. She knew who he was. A good man, consumed by an awful curse. And she loved him for that man. One day, she hoped that man would be free, that he'd thank her for what she was about to do, for keeping his conscious clean but for now…another man's life was on the line, and the truth was that she just didn't have the time to argue and reason with beast. Everything inside of her knew that she'd fail. She had to stop him the only way she knew how.

So, as she pulled out of their kiss and ran her hands, carefully down around him, in one fell swoop she did the impossible, she reached inside his coat and stole the dagger from the Dark One without any fight. "But I also know who I really am, and I can't let you hurt him," she explained holding the dagger protectively out in front of her. "In fact, I command you not to."

He struggled. So did she, she'd hated this the first time that she'd done it and she hated it now, resented it even! She shouldn't have to do things like this, trick her husband! But there was no choice for her, not until this was over, not until their child was hers in every way and the Underworld was safe from him and from Hades. He hated it too, though she had a feeling it was for a much different reason.

His hand lowered in a quick gesture and behind her she heard Gaston's body hit the ground as fell, released on her command. She turned to help him up and-

"Belle," Rumple called out to her. "You're making a big mistake."

Was she? So far, looking at Gaston there on the ground coughing at his freedom, she still wasn't sure it was. This could still work.

"Are you all right?" she questioned turning back to him.

Gaston glanced up but he didn't look at her. His eyes remained on Rumpelstiltskin as his chest heaved. "I will be," he growled suddenly.

"What?" but before the word could leave her mouth, he was up. He'd reached for something beside him, something she hadn't seen because she'd been too busy focusing on Rumpelstiltskin.

His bow and the enchanted arrows. Before her eyes he drew one, took aim at Rumpelstiltskin and-

"No!"

She didn't think, she didn't talk, she just reacted. She did the only thing she could think to buy Rumple the time to magic them out of there! She reached out, grabbed the arrow, and pushed him off balance just as she had with Zelena, only this time!

"Aah!"

Gaston fell.

He fell into the river below the docks.

The River of Souls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, pretty straight forward, if you ask me. It is certainly a what-you-see-is-what-you-get chapter. The only thing I ended up editing was how she got the dagger. This is why I watch each episode in the series a ridiculous amount before I actually write them. I think when I initially saw the episode I had Belle running back to the shop to find the dagger before using it on him and it never sit well with me because then the big reveal was a little too dramatic for Belle's sake. It wasn't until I was doing a re-watch that I realized she had seen him take it out of his jacket and was smart enough to know that was where he was keeping it and personally I think that is much better than anything I would have come up with so...well, I can't believe I'm saying it, but that is one well done for the writers.
> 
> Thank you, Taisch for the comments you left on the previous chapter and for the updates as to filming. I saw the pictures. Forgive me, but experience forces me to look at them with pessimism. I've become the Doubting Thomas it seems...ah well. Peace and Happy Reading!


	35. High Risk For No Reward

She stood atop the dock, helpless to do anything as she watched green lights quickly swarm the body of her former fiancé. "No!" she breathed staring in shock and horror as the green began to dissipate and the water calmed. Gaston never resurfaced. He'd disappeared beneath the depths of the black waters and though she knew he was an excellent swimmer she also knew that he would never return to take another breath. And it was all because of her. Because she'd pushed him. She'd killed a man! No, it was worse! He'd already been dead, but she'd sentenced him to an endless afterlife of torment! She hadn't just failed to help him, she'd made him miserable.

"What have I done?" she cried unable to take her eyes off the spot in the water that Gaston had once fallen. With every passing moment she could tell less and less that something had happened. Around her she could feel the world moving, time continuing on whether she wanted it to or not. Even she was going on. Her hands, they were shaking. Her heart was pounding as it broke and the realization slowly swept over her all too quickly. But there was something that she was more aware of than all of it. A hand on her shoulder. A hand that she recognized on touch alone and probably always would.

Rumpelstiltskin.

He'd told her this would happen. He'd told her that this was what would happen, that in the heat of the moment she'd do what was necessary to protect the ones she loved. She had done that. She'd protected him. Not their child, for once their child hadn't been in danger! It was Rumple who Gaston was aiming for. And she'd reached out and done what she had to in order to save him. But that didn't change that what she'd done was an awful thing. She was no hero today. She was just as villainous as he was.

She stifled a cry as she finally pried her eyes off the river and turned back to him, looking her over with concern. All she could feel was a weight in her hand. The dagger, it felt like it weighed a ton, just as it had the last time she'd used it on him, fake or not. It was heavier somehow. Or maybe just the weight of Gaston. Unable to handle it anymore, unable to want to handle it anymore, she offered it to him. There was no more need for it to be in her hands.

"I guess you were right," she conceded as he took the dagger. "Darkness will always win."

She wasn't sure what she was doing. All she knew was that she felt cold and he had always felt so warm. Without a thought she fell into his waiting arms and laid her head against his chest. He didn't refuse her the gesture. After all they'd shared, all she'd done to him, he still held her just as if it was years ago and she'd just broken free from the asylum. She'd been right. He was warm.

"I'm so sorry, Belle," he whispered rubbing her back. "I never wanted this to happen to you, but you saved me. You saved our child."

That was true. It was the one consolation prize that came out of all of this and even though she would never be able to call what happened here good she knew it was at least true. Gaston had gone into the River of Souls, just as Hades wanted. Now their baby was theirs and they were free to figure out what came next for both of them. Together? Apart? She wished she-

"A-Actually, not so much."

She and Rumple both spun around at the sound of a voice she'd only heard once but recognized too easily. She'd never forget that voice as long as she lived. Hades.

"Sorry to break up this beautiful domestic scene, but…your baby is still mine."

She felt ready to burst into tears. Not out of sadness, not for Gaston, not anymore…Hades words made her angry. Furious, actually. He was going back on his deal? He'd gotten what he wanted and wasn't going to give them what they wanted out of his sick experiment!

"No, we had a deal," she shouted. "Gaston went in the sea."

"I said I would break the contract if Gaston or Rumpelstiltskin threw the other in the river. But since Belle did the deed..."

Her jaw dropped open. Now he was simply adding insult to injury. A technicality! That was what was keeping her from her child! That was the excuse that he was going to use. The only thing that stood between her and any small semblance of justification! It wasn't over?! He'd wanted one of them gone. One of them was, by her own hand but now because of that it was all for naught?!

"And…what a-a fun surprise that was," Hades chuckled mercilessly at her before regaining his horrible uncaring composure. He looked the two of them down with something far more cruel than any villain she'd ever met had. "No deal."

"No," she shook her head and fought to free herself from Rumple's side, she was itching to hit him, to fight him hand over foot if it took that to relinquish his claim…but Rumple's arm around her waist was steadfast, keeping her by his side. "I will get my baby free of you, you monster!"

"Me?" he questioned innocently before stepping forward toward them. Rumple's arm was still tight, he guided her out of his path…which happened to lead right to the edge of the dock. The very place she'd done the horrible deed she now had to live with for the rest of her life. "Well, you're the one who just doomed your ex-boyfriend to eternal torment."

"Don't listen to him, Belle," Rumple urged, still keeping an unfailing grip on her. "He wanted this to happen."

She really wasn't sure what she thought or wanted to do at such an awful proclamation. Kick? Scream? Cry? She was just a person who had always tried to do her best to be a good person, to set the best example that she could for this baby even before it was born. Why would Hades do such a thing to her. What did she mean to him? Why on Earth would he want her baby?!

"Why? Why did you push me to this?"

"Uh, I have my reasons," he remarked suddenly and inexplicably squatting down closer to the dock. He was looking at something. A…a flower? A flower growing out of a space on the dock. If it weren't for the lovely white of its petals she would have said it was more weed than flower but-

She nearly jumped when she saw it. Before her eyes the flower wilted, far more drastically than Rumple's rose ever had wilted. The white petals turned grey and black. The stem began to bend as it failed to hold itself up. Its leaves began to wither and dry up. In fact, the entire thing began to shrink and shrivel. It was dying right in front of them. And she really had no idea why.

"Now, this…is a beautiful flower." she watched as Hades reached out and plucked, or perhaps snapped, it free from its rotted roots. He raised it to his nose as if it was a perfect rose and inhaled deeply before glancing up at the pair of them. She hated the way that he looked them over as he rose from the ground. It was clearly as if he knew he had the upper hand. Worse, he knew he had the upper hand, and he was enjoying watching both of them squirm. "Imbued with my favorite scent... hopelessness," he added before vanishing in a swirling cloud of white smoke.

He was gone. And she was still unsure what to do. She glanced up at Rumpelstiltskin, hoping he would have a suggestion for them, a place to start, even a promise that might give her hope. But he only stared back for a few seconds before looking out over the bay, clearly just as worried and disturbed as she was. She laid her head against his chest once more as he rubbed her back, but was suddenly aware that the heat he'd once offered her was beginning to burn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, but it was a short scene. I had originally planned to put it with the last chapter, but once again the tones were so different I felt they really needed to be separate. And while they are both shorter than average chapters together they would have been a longer than average chapter, and if I have the option, I'm always more willing to make short chapters than long chapters.
> 
> Peace and Happy Reading!


	36. The Power of Guilt

At first, she appreciated the care that he showed her after the horrible incident passed. He walked her back to the shop. They walked, he didn't use magic, it was a small gesture that she appreciated most of all, but when they went into the back room, she saw a feast made out on the table for them, table cloth, candles, fine china, and a pot of what smelled like Chicken Noodle Soup. That had been magic. And though it might have looked warm and cozy, it only made her shiver. She was sorrowful. He'd been working up a romantic evening in hell? Didn't he understand? No matter how he felt about Gaston, she was in mourning not just for him but for herself and for their child. This was hardly the time for a romantic evening. She sniffled and took a step away from him at the sight.

"Um…I'm afraid I'm just…I'm not really in the mood."

He was quiet for a moment before he muttered "very well" and waved his hand. The candles the tablecloth, the plates, it all disappeared save for the soup, the bowls, and the spoons. One other thing reappeared. _Her Handsome Hero_. It sat on the table, right where Gaston had left it. With no one left to haunt, it had nowhere left to be. Unless of course, she was its new target. This book she'd once loved so much was now nothing but a horrible reminder. And instead of reminding her of her mother, it would forever remind her of Gaston, and what she'd done.

With a sad sigh, she sat down on the cot in the back room and put her head in her hands. What had she done?

"Try not to dwell on it, Belle," he muttered moving to the table.

"Try not to dwell on it? Rumple, I killed someone, what else should I do."

"First, he was already dead. Second,of all, he was working with Hades to destroy our future, where is the guilt in that?"

Where was the guilt in that? Where wasn't the guilt in that? He wasn't working to destroy their future, her talk with Gaston showed that he'd hardly cared about her. He'd been trying to murder Rumple so that he could move on from this horrible place. A place that Rumple had put him and probably never would have if she'd never met him or encouraged him to be her kind of "hero". But she wasn't in any kind of position to even touch upon that at the moment.

"Here." She watched as Rumple reached up into a cupboard and pulled a blanket free from her. For just that one brief moment, as she watched that tiny action, it was months ago, when they'd first been married, and the power was out. They'd sat on the cot at home and shared a blanket. They'd talked about how much they loved each other. The chill in the air now was far worse than it was then. But the memory made her refuse the blanket.

"No thank you, I'm fine."

Still, he pressed her with it. "You should get some rest. You were up all night."

"And the night before, but I said I was fine," she spat back. She wasn't sure what she wanted right now, but she knew, cold as she was, it wasn't a blanket. He relented and placed it back up in the cabinet.

"Well, you should at least have something to eat."

"I'm really not that hungry right now," she argued. Part of her acknowledged that he was trying, but he was doing it all wrong. His gestures were cold; there was nothing warm or sympathetic to them at all. After this trauma, she wanted…she wanted him. She wanted what they'd had after Neal had been shot and she'd been Lacey. She wanted that. Someone to hold her. Someone to let her cry. Someone who wasn't going to lie to her and tell her it was nothing because it wasn't nothing. She wanted to feel loved and human at this moment. Not the cool calculations of the Dark One. And if she wasn't going to get that? What was the point?

"If you don't eat-"

"I appreciate the gesture," she muttered sadly. "But I think I need to be alone right now."

She didn't look at him. She couldn't bring herself to. The truth was that she didn't know who's eyes would greet her. Rumple? Or the Dark One?

"Fine," he conceded after a moment. "I'll step away, check on the others, let you try to get some rest."

"Check on the others?" she questioned, suddenly hopeful. "You're going to help them."

"No, I mean merely to check on their progress. I assure you they'll never even know I looked in on them. While I'm gone…try not to wallow so much." She heard the sound of his footsteps on the hardwood floor, then the sound of the back door opening and closing. He was gone. She was left allow to reflect on what she'd done.

What she'd done…she knew what she'd done. She'd acted. She'd acted and she hadn't thought first, she'd just reacted to the situation and now Gaston was dead.

No…he'd been dead before. Her husband, the Dark One had killed him, she was the one that had sentenced him to a fate far worse. And for what? Nothing. Nothing, because their child still belonged to Hades and not to them.

Well, it wasn't exactly for nothing. Rumpelstiltskin was alive. She'd saved him. And there was a time that might have seemed like a fair trade, part of her still felt that it was, but another part simply couldn't get words and thoughts that she'd had before out of her mind. She was willing to risk everything for Rumple, for their family. In a small way, she was still very much so the optimistic girl that she'd been when the first curse over Storybrooke broke. But she wasn't sure who she'd done this for anymore. Was her Rumple still there? The one who promised her he loved her more than anything, the one who always believed in her, supported her, protected her? She wanted to believe that he was. But all she kept hearing was his declaration over and over again that he was who he was, that he wasn't going to fight the darkness and she just had to accept it. Not just accept it, but turn away when it happened, stop trying to make him better. That was a Rumpelstiltskin who was choosing magic over her, over their love. She had killed for her Rumple, but would this Rumple change for her? Was he willing to work toward using his curse for the Light? The work they'd done before Gaston intervened seemed to answer that for her. He wasn't willing to try. And nothing she'd seen today seemed to support the idea he was even still there. What could be done with an answer like that? She had a feeling she knew; she just didn't like it. Their happy ending was over before it had ever started. Wasn't that the story of their life? Was that going to be the story of their child's life?

She thought she could do this when she came over days ago, but she just couldn't. She couldn't make a choice to accept the Darkness, to look the other way, it just wasn't who she was. Her soul couldn't take it, and she couldn't bear to bring a child into this world if it meant tarnishing her own soul. She'd seen what that did to parent and child in Rumple and Neal. She'd warned Neal about it when he first told her he intended to create a dark curse of his own to get back to Henry. "Make sure your soul is intact." Maybe more people would be better off if she'd just left Storybrooke and stuck by what she'd said at the well.

The sun rose again that morning, if she could call it a "morning", and with a heavy sigh she rose from the spot she hadn't moved from and examined the little green book still sitting on the table. It was amazing how little she'd thought of it over the years. Ever since her mother gave her _La Belle Et La Bete_ she'd associated herself with it far more than Her Handsome Hero but…maybe the remarkable thing was how much of herself she'd lost over the years, ever since _La Belle Et La Bete_ had come into her life. She'd always wanted to resemble _Her Handsome Hero_ far more than _La Belle Et La Bete_. The tale of the shepherd boy who risked it all to become the hero for the woman that he loved, the woman who loved him back. He wasn't perfect, he didn't win every battle, but he showed strength in his emotion, love in his actions, and mercy to those who others thought didn't deserve it. Mercy. Compassion. Love. Three things she certainly had not had with Gaston, today or ever before. And now the opportunity was gone. What was she supposed to tell her child even if the contract was destroyed?

She slammed the book closed at the same time the shop door opened and closed. She wasn't alarmed and didn't panic, she knew the sound of his footsteps too well.

"Stop torturing yourself, Belle," he muttered.

The words hit her like a slap in the face. Not the words, just the tone, it was the tone she'd heard ever since she arrived and they'd begun trying to find an answer. There wasn't the faintest hint of sympathy in his voice. No caring or feeling of any kind. If anything, all she heard was cold, hard irritation. Irritation that this was bothering her, irritation that she was upset with herself. It turned her stomach. Maybe he didn't remember, but those were part of what made a person human. She wanted to be human, she wanted to do good things, she wanted to be a hero, and she wanted that for their child more than anything. Her caring would show that. Would his?

"No, I... I gave Gaston this book to teach him that a true hero needs to show his enemy compassion, right?" she argued. "But in the moment that I could've shown him mercy? What? I send him to a fate worse than death!" she stated choking on her emotions That was what bothered her, truly bothered her and as far as she was concerned, it should bother her. But clearly, it had no effect on him. She wondered if anything did anymore. Certainly, she didn't.

"Belle," he reasoned in a gentler voice. "You were trying to protect our child."

"Yeah, and...and you know, if Hades had actually destroyed the contract, then maybe I could live with what I did. But…" But…that was just the problem! It wasn't to save their child, not in the heat of the moment! Gaston hadn't threatened their child, and she hadn't through that he couldn't harm Rumple because she needed him, she'd just thought that she couldn't allow him to hurt Rumple because he was Rumple. And sure, afterward she'd been elated for all of two seconds because she thought the same thing, that what she'd done might save their child but that just wasn't the case. And now…now she wasn't sure who she'd really done this for anymore. Herself? Rumple? Their child. "But he found a loophole, and I darkened my soul, Rumple, just... just to save you." She'd never be the same. How was she supposed to tell their child about this one day? She had to carry it forever..

"And now we can free our child from Hades' grasp together."

That tone again, the irritation that told her he wished she'd just move on and forget this but…but she couldn't. And she wasn't sure she could dismiss his tone either. She felt guilty after just one life! How could he kill and manipulate over and over again and feel nothing?! That was terrifying! Was it really the best thing for their child to be around? Was it really the best thing for her to be around?

"No, I…I need to make this right on my own. I leave it up to you…" She couldn't do that. She had the answer to the choice he'd asked her to make even though she said she wasn't going to make it yet. As long as he was like this, the Dark One, she couldn't be around him. The truth was, he wasn't good for either of them or both of them the way he was. "You'll just make me do something else I'll regret," she realized.

Feeling like there waslead in her shoes sheleft, because if she was willing to kill just to save a beast like the Dark One, she didn't want to know what else he'd convince her to do in order to save her child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a few issues to consider in this chapter. First of all, it was really, really hard to write, chapters like this are, but not in the way you would consider. It was difficult in the how did we get from there to here way. Last we saw Rumple and Belle they were standing at the docks hugging in the wake of their disappointment. This time around though Belle is incredibly short with Rumple, and Rumpelstiltskin...I didn't lie in the chapter, if you go back and watch this scene again his tone is what really pissed me off. He says "let it go" in that tone of "enough is enough stop acting like a child" and even I thought it was harsh. So I did a couple of things here to fix that. First of all, I added an extra day. I know some people want 5x17 and 5x18 to be the same day, but it just didn't seem plausible in this setting, and when I watched the episode it didn't seem plausible for the other either. So I added the night for Belle to brood and Rumple to grow restless and now we are 5x18 which is a fresh new day (if you can call it that in the Underworld). The second thing I did...still no sleep. I tried, I swear I did, there are only a few places in the Underworld time where Belle could take a nap or rest, and this certainly was one of them, but when I looked at it seriously it just didn't seem plausible to me. I couldn't see this happening and then Belle thinking "yeah, a good night sleep will totally help" and then laying down and actually sleeping. So instead I kept her up, I let her emotions run wild for the third night in a row. What does sleeplessness cause? Irritability, mood changes, impairment of the mind, rash decision making...sound familiar yet? See where I'm going with this and maybe why keeping her up works in my favor?
> 
> We are on to 5x18, (obviously) which is the last of the Belle episodes so we've got a lot to do this week for this story and frankly I've got a lot I have to do this week just to kick my butt into gear on the next of the tales. I certainly should have been farther along with it by now than I am, but alas, work. Peace and Happy Reading!


	37. Her Own Bright Ideas

And so she was on her way again. On her own. She hated how comfortable she was becoming with this, but the truth was that she couldn't trust her husband anymore. He was driven by power and greed; love was on his mind, she had no doubt he loved this child, but his curse meant that power would come first and influence every move he made. She honestly wasn't even sure if he loved her the same way he had when they first met anymore, or if he simply wanted to have her by his side as a trophy of his accomplishment. What did that make their child? Well, she wouldn't stand for it. She wouldn't stand for being a trophy, being asked to choose to accept the Darkness. In that case, she was no better than being married to Gaston in her father's Kingdom, the King's Queen. She didn't want that for herself, and it wasn't the life that she wanted for her child. But of course, if she didn't find a way to break that contract her child would never be her child. And the monster who would raise it would be far worse than Rumpelstiltskin.

Monster...

She was a monster too. She'd pushed Gaston, and he'd fallen. Hades was quick to point out that he wasn't the only monstrosity. She was...

She shook her head, trying ot rid herself of the tears as she walked on. Hurt as she was, she had to turn her attention back to Hades. He was the biggest monster of them all.

And so, predictable as ever, that was how she found herself back in the library. She called out when she got there but her voice only echoed and no one called back to let her know they were here. She wasn't sure if she'd been hoping the others would still be there, but a glance to her left told her why they weren't. The elevator doors were open…and the elevator itself was shut with a cinder block barrier. Had it happened before or after she'd thought of her idea? Had they succeeded in their project? Where were they now?

Did it matter?

Their goals were simple. Get their names off the tombstones and take Killian home. She'd like to go home with them. But doing that was pointless if Hades was just going to appear in nine months and wrench her newborn from her arms. No. Their goals were too different. That was why she'd told Mary Margaret-Snow White to leave her be and not worry about her. She had to look for that answer on her own. What were her options?

Well? She could ask nicely. She could politely ask Hades to tear up the contract and see what happened. There was nothing to be lost if she did, except perhaps her dignity, but she was willing to part with that for her child?

Still, she quickly rejected that idea. He'd refuse. She would ask nicely, and he'd tell her no, and she knew the reason. He wanted Rumple under his thumb. She was meaningless to him, nothing but the incubator, but Rumple was the Dark One. And if Hades couldn't possess the dagger then the next best thing was to threaten to take his family and with that contract, it would be more than a kidnapping. If Hades captured her he'd come running, if he threatened to take away the child he'd always wanted, the second chance that he needed…well that was a lot let stress. Hades could drag this out as long as he wanted really. He could let them raise the baby but always with conditions. "Do this or I'll take your baby", "do that or he'll never see his 5th birthday", "do my bidding or you'll lose him just as you lost Neal". No. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't live with that hanging over her or let their child grow up with it hanging over them. She could ask Hades to relinquish the contract, but she knew that he wouldn't.

Other options?

She could try to make another deal with Hades. She could ask for more time or demand that he take her with the child…but she dismissed that idea as well. To begin with, there was no reason for Hades to make a deal with her. She was nothing. And any deal that he would make she knew wasn't one that she would want to be part of. The last one had scarred her for life and meant nothing the moment he found the loophole to get out of the contract. She couldn't live with letting him toy with her. As for taking her with their child…that wasn't going to happen. There was no benefit to having both of them when the child alone would ensure Rumple's cooperation. And she wasn't going to trade herself for her child because she didn't want to know what Rumple would do to get her back, the amount of blood that would be on her hands was too much guilt.

And so, with no other options, she was here again, back at the library. There was only one option. Defeat Hades. Or at least weaken him to the point that he was all too happy to dispose of the contract. But that would take work. Looking around the library a sense of hopelessness hit her. She and Regina and everyone else had already been through most of these books looking for exactly what she was looking for now. They'd found nothing.

No, she couldn't allow herself to think this way, she couldn't allow herself to give in to those feelings of hopelessness. When her child asked why he was being taken, was "I tried once and couldn't find anything" a sufficient answer? No. She would search these books again, all over again, every last page of every last one if that was what it took! She'd search every book in this miserable realm if that was what was demanded of her because failure was not the option she was looking for.

But fortunately for her a book that was still laying by the elevator informed her that there were certain books that would probably hold more power for her.

She retrieved the partially burned book that Regina had used to open the doors and examined it. The pile of books in the back, the ones they'd found in ashes, they were in ashes for a reason. Heavy book in hand, she made her way back to the pile that Killian had found and sat down beside it, removing her jacket so it wouldn't get too sooty. One by one she sorted through them. What she found was revealing. None of the books contained chapters about Hades; she was suspicious of entire chunks of pages that had been torn from their binding. No, what she found was other gods. Hercules, Apollo, Hera. Nothing was ever really about Hades, and yet he was always there. He was a background character, a side note in their tales. Occasionally that side note was good; usually, it was neutral, mentioning him as a brother or a friend of some other god on Mount Olympus. But then, every once in a while she stumbled over small unfortunate incidents. He'd lied once and gotten someone's immortality taken away. He'd poisoned weapons with water from the River of Souls to claim those souls for himself. He'd tricked Zeus into hiring a god to forge weapons that colossal beings called Titans were immune to. They'd nearly taken over Mount Olympus. And wasn't it a strange coincidence, that as much as Hades had told Zeus he was on his side, the Titans had walked right passed the god of death. Others were injured to the point of death and probably would have been killed if they weren't immortal. Hades walked away with barely a scratch. He was the brother of Zeus, the King of the Gods. So what was he doing in the Underworld?

She suspected that very question had something to do with all the missing pages, especially the nearly fifty pages that had been torn out immediately following that story. But there was nothing to do about pages that were missing. If the ink was gone or they were burned she might have been able to put something together to reveal the tale. But it was gone.

With a sigh, she dropped her latest book back into the pile and coughed as it raised a cloud of ash. These books contained stories of his family and better times, they were stories of others that she was coming to assume he'd haphazardly tried to burn in a jealous rage, but only after he'd removed what they said about him first. Searching the library, these books even, was a good idea, but Hades was too smart to be beaten with good ideas. Stuff that he kept close to him would be missing. Just as Zelena's history was missing.

Zelena…

Suddenly her heart started to race, and she pulled her coat back on to investigate the back room Henry had once shown her. She examined it more closely this time, book by book, shelf by shelf. Nothing. Everything was here. Rapunzel, Archie, Granny, Snow and Charming, even an old woman in a shoe, but Zelena…the Wicked Witch of the West was missing from these books…just like Hades.

She remembered the implications of that. She remembered how she'd been convinced that Hades and Zelena had something they didn't want to share with each other and after finding the books missing and then talking to Hades yesterday she began to think that Regina had suspected it too. She wasn't sure about Zelena's feelings, but Hades might have feelings for Zelena. Strong feelings. Feelings enough to listen to her?

She was a mother. She was afraid for her life and for the life of her child, clearly. Was it possible that Zelena was the answer to all of this?

Of course, Zelena as the answer welcomed a whole new set of problems into her life. For starters, this was the woman who had locked the father of her child in a cage and used the dagger on him…just as she had. Suddenly she and Zelena had a lot more in common than she was comfortable admitting. Getting Zelena to help was a long shot, but if she was right and Hades did love her then…this might be their only chance. True love was a weakness. Of course, that was contrary to everything that she believed, but there was no doubt in her mind that to Rumple, love was weakness. He wouldn't be fighting his good side so much, the side that loved her, if he didn't believe that she would make him weaker in some way. So by his own logic, Zelena was Hades weakness.

Maybe…maybe Zelnea could convince Hades to do what she couldn't.

And in return?

There was the other problem. Zelena was smart and manipulative, she wasn't about to just go to Hades on a whim for her expecting nothing in return. So she'd have to have something to give her, she'd have to make a deal of her own for this to work. And she knew what it was and how to sell it.

If Zelena did this, then it would be something good, something that helped someone else, and more importantly something that would help them trust her around her own baby. If Zelena did this, she would advocate for more time with her child. She knew Robin wouldn't like it, Regina wouldn't either, but suddenly she was beginning to see Zelena in a new light, and if the witch helped her then that would be a step in the right direction. It was a small step of course, but one small step forward was better than the backsliding that Rumple was doing. One small step forward was better than the stand still she felt she was at.

She swallowed as she looked around, suddenly resigned to what she was going to do. She couldn't ask Rumple to do this or go with her. For one, she understood that this needed a gentle touch and he might do something too harsh that would make her regret introducing him into the plan. For another…she could hardly blame him if he did. With the past the pair of them had, after what Zelena put him through, she could hardly ask him to go to her for help. It wasn't fair. She didn't exactly like it either. She remembered all too clearly the nightmares he'd awoken from after his time in captivity and every time she thought of it she had to strongly resist the urge to scream at the woman.

But this wasn't for Rumple. This was for their child. And if Zelena was the answer…it had to be her. She was stronger than he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I really don't like this chapter. I wanted to actually include a lot of elements from it into the previous chapter but it was just too much happening at once so I had to bring Belle here for a filler chapter and well...logic. There is this one thing people said throughout this season that I really didn't understand and I really wanted the opportunity to combat it. Everyone claims that Belle has made friends with Zelena. I don't think that is true. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. I think they both use and manipulate one another to get what they want. This time around, Belle is doing the manipulating. See, like it or not Zelena is the logical choice for Belle to go to. She can't go to Hades. She can't go to the Heros. She can't go to her father or mother or a fairy. She can't go herself. And Rumple, whether we like it or not Belle doesn't trust him and therefore, in Belle's mind, he is not logically an option. But the Wicked Witch of the West, who might be hiding something about Hades, who is trying to do what is right by her child, who has had a child taken from her, knows Hades, and knows magic? She's the logical next step. Are they friendly with each other? Sure. In that terrible, twisted way Zelena is friendly, and in the manipulative, I need you to do what I want Belle way. But they are not friends. How do you know? Friends wrap an arm around you and say "don't worry I'm going to help you figure this out", you don't have to say "I need you to help me and this is what I'll do for you if you do." If you have a "friendship" like that, my friends, get out now. It's bad news. I would love to continue this argument now and extend it into season six, but I think I will wait until the 6A fiction to continue. Can you tell this has been a bit of a pet peeve?
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you to Deweymay for leaving me an awesome comment on the previous chapter. I will be interested to hear all of your thoughts on this chapter? Do you agree with me on Zelena? Or do you now? Peace and Happy Reading!


	38. Mother to Mother

It took her a long time to walk all the way to the farmhouse from the library without a car. Apparently that was a luxury in this version of Storybrooke that not all were afforded. But in the end she didn't mind the walk. Not only did the hike allow her to stretch her legs but it gave her time to think. Time to think about what she'd done, about what she was about to do, and about whether or not she really wanted to go through with it. She had time enough to weigh all the pros and cons in her head at least three times and by the time the rickety old farmhouse finally came into view she had her answer. She didn't want to do this, but she needed to.

She wasn't positive it was a good idea, but at least it was doing something in a way that she was comfortable with. And Zelena's magic was temperamental at the moment, if something went wrong she could always summon Regina, or even Rumple. Though she really didn't want to see him at the moment, she knew that he would come to her rescue. From her distance she noted the smoke rising out of the chimney, indicating someone was home. There was no point in turning back now.

With a deep breath, she made her way to the door and knocked. And waited. And listened. From within she finally heard footsteps coming toward her and she did her best to brace herself for whatever might happen when the door opened.

"Belle! To what do I owe the honor?" the witch questioned with a smile in an almost friendly tone, as if she came over all the time to borrow a cup of sugar. "Are you here to tear my crying baby from my arms again?" There was the Zelena she knew.

"I need your help," she begged quickly without explanation.

Zelena only rolled her eyes and moved away, attempting to close the door in her face.

"Please. I'm asking you as a mother."

That caught Zelena's attention. And after a smile of intrigue and a look up and down she opened the door wide and allowed her entry. "A mother, you say," she questioned as they stood in the hall. "I assume that means you're pregnant."

She had to take another deep breath and egg herself on. Never in a million years would she ever have expected to be having this conversation with Zelena. But now she was here and it wasn't because she wanted to be, it was because she had no other options. "I am," she finally choked out.

Zelena nodded and raised her eyebrows in false surprise. "Well congratulaions…I always assumed it was only a matter of time until the Dark One knocked you up. Or at least I assume its your not so dearly beloved. Oh God, it wasn't that thief they all talk about, is it? There's an awkward conversation."

"It's Rumple's," she interrupted quickly. The thought that anyone even remotely suspected that it belonged to anyone other than her and Rumple made her stomach twist. But Hades made it turn more. "But…but if you don't help me it won't be mine at all."

"Well I won't say you have my attention but you certainly have my interest," Zelena stated walking down the hallway.

She followed after her. "Rumple made a mistake," she prattled on. "When Neal was sick as a child he made a deal for him, that he'd turn over his second born."

"Well I wouldn't think that would be a problem for Rumpelstiltskin, couldn't he just kill the man?"

"That's the problem, he did."

She and Zelena came to stop in a room that looked like it was a kitchen or a dining room. It was nearly bare, a fire in the grate, a pitcher of water and a glass on the small counter at the other side and a table with a couple of chairs around it. Zelena looked at her as she took one of the chairs and motioned for her to sit down on the other side. Before the witch sat down she watched her fetch one of the glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

"It's morning," she judged as Zelena poured herself some.

"And this is hell, yet when I awoke this morning I found a lovely frost on the ground. If hell has frozen over then all rules are out the window. Not to mention you're here. We're living in an upside-down world. We may as well drink."

"Actually I was hoping you could do something a little more proactive than that."

"Proactive?" she questioned setting the glass aside. "For you?"

She nodded. "Rumple did kill the man he had the contract with, it was before he met me, before he ever had reason to believe that he'd have another child. But once he got down here, Hades found the man and had him sign over the contract to him."

Zelena settled back into her chair and sighed. "That's not terribly surprising. Love is stronger than hate and that child would be better blackmail than a dagger."

She nodded, she'd already worked that part out for herself. "Which is why I'm here," she stated timidly. "I thought you might be able to talk to Hades, convince him to tear up the contract and let me have my baby. And in return…I'll talk to Regina and Robin, I'll convince them that you are trying to change for the better and they should let you see your daughter."

"Let me?!" Zelena huffed. "As if I should need permission at all to see my own flesh and blood!" She resisted the urge to point out all the reasons that she should need permission and instead decided to focus on the more positive.

"I can convince them that it's the right thing to do. All I need you to do is get Hades to destroy the contract for my child. Please…there was a reason you didn't want him to have your daughter, a reason why Robin is out there right now hiding with her so he doesn't find her…I don't want my child to go with him either."

"And what makes you think Hades would listen to me?" she questioned skeptically.

"I know that he's in love with you," she guessed, trying to sound as confident as she possibly could.

A moment later she knew she guessed right. Zelena's reaction, one of complete and utter shock, not to mention the snort of derision, was all the proof that she needed to see of that. "My sister's got an even bigger mouth than I thought," she muttered looking into her whiskey. So, Regina knew too and had already talked to her about it since they last met. She was beginning to regret telling them not to worry about her. Information might have been handy at a time like this. "Sorry, but…Hades would never rip up one of his precious contracts," Zelena finally explained. "Even if I asked."

"Oh please," she breathed, begged really, leaning forward. "Zelena, you know what it's like to have to lose a child." And she most certainly didn't want to be her. Now that she knew she was pregnant, she was beginning to see things differently. The treatment of this witch, for example, banishing her to Oz…she knew why Regina had done it and as someone who occasionally called Regina her friend and at the very least someone on the same side, she could understand the reasoning, but as a mother…she couldn't even bare to think of the possibility of giving birth to this child and never seeing it again. Never holding or feeding it. Never seeing it grow. Suddenly she knew why Zelena had fought so hard to get back to Storybrooke and escape with the baby. And then why she would leave the baby with Robin. She couldn't bear to let go, but she also wanted the best thing for this child. And she knew in her heart of hearts Hades was not what was best for their child. She had to help. She had to-

"Why come to me when you've got the Dark One on your side," Zelena questioned suddenly, staring her down with an unflinching gaze.

Yes that. It was a fair question. She'd called Zelena out and Zelena had called her out. That was something else that she was still trying to work through. At the moment she knew Rumple wasn't the safest choice for her. But was he good for the baby? Or would he be just as bad as Hades in his current state? She didn't know the answer and she didn't need to know yet. It didn't concern the truth of why she was here and not with him.

"Yeah, can't really trust him right now," she explained simply. He was just too…dark. Darker than he'd ever been before. And she didn't know why, but she knew that he'd done it to himself and she wasn't about to let that happen around her.

"So, you finally see the beast behind the man?" Zelena questioned with a smirk. "Maybe you can understand why I'm not rushing to Hades with open arms."

She wouldn't say that was entirely true. She'd always seen the beast there, in most cases she'd seen it before the man. The problem was that she also saw the man, and refused to believe that he couldn't change and give that man priority. But when it came to Zelena…she didn't think it was the same. Zelena wasn't exactly a "hero" as she strove to be and she'd never hidden that fact. She'd worn her villious self, her beastly self, on her sleeves just as Hades did. With her and Rumple it was a matter of values and choices. She didn't see that problem existing with Zelena and Hades. Which meant that regardless of what she was asking her to do it had nothing to do with her and Rumple's history. It had to be something else. Something she'd been banking on but hadn't really known until now. Zelena loved Hades back.

"Well, I don't think it's because of me and Rumple. I think it's because you're scared," she pointed out gently.

"Of the Lord of Death?" she questioned. "Please. I just know the truth. I'm never going to get my happy ending. Not with Hades, not with my daughter, not with anyone."

"How do you know that if you haven't tried?"

"Oh, I have tried," Zelena argued with a small chuckle. "Look where I am?! Drinking with the bookworm." Zelena raised her glass in a salute and took a sip of the amber liquid. But it wasn't in salute, it was in resignation. And it made her want to cry. Zelena hadn't gotten a happy ending because she was a villain. Her happy ending included bad things for others, suffering on Regina's part. And her? Would she get her Happy Ending? Or had Rumple doomed her, their entire family just because he'd made this mistake? Was she doomed to sit where Zelena was? Forever wallowing in the choices of the man she'd fallen in love with? It made her want to cry. It made her sad and sick and-

It made her actually sick.

Her stomach turned, but not the way it usually did when she was faced with a difficult decision, not the way it had in the forest when she'd found out she was pregnant and he was the Dark One again. It turned like it had when she was a child and been sick. She gagged, choked and struggled not to vomit.

"Oh, come on. If I disgust you that much, maybe you should leave!" Zelena commented as she turned away and went to the counter behind her to find something to drink down the awful taste of it. Fortunately as she stepped away, the feeling passed.

"No," she excused taking deep breaths. In the back of her mind she recalled all the times she'd lived in the castle and Snow White had suddenly had moments like this one where she'd had to go be sick. She'd called it her "all day sickness" because it didn't just happen for her in the mornings. Clearly, she wasn't the only one. Of course she also couldn't remember Snow White being sick until weeks into her pregnancy but she supposed it was unique to each woman. "No, it's, uh... it's... it's not that. It's just morning sickness. You remember what that's like."

"Actually, I don't," the witch muttered as she drank. "Not since the Dark Swan made sure my pregnancy lasted all of 10 minutes."

As she set her cup down her skin began to tingle and she began to feel flushed in a way that she was sure had nothing to do with morning sickness. Morning sickness she wasn't sure she was really supposed to be having.

"Wait," she breathed, recalling Granny helping Snow and talking about Morning Sickness and when it usually arrived and left and then Zelena…she shouldn't be morning sick now. It was too early, she'd only been pregnant a week! Her body shouldn't even realize…but Hades did. Just like Emma. Zelena hadn't had time to feel sick or even pregnant because Emma had sped up the pregnancy when she needed Zelena and wanted the innocent child to be cared for. Hades could do the same thing! She shouldn't be morning sick! Which either meant she wasn't and really was just reacting to the awful few days that she'd had or…or Hades was speeding her up too! "Hades, if... if he decides he wants my child now, he could speed up my pregnancy, too!"

"I'd love to say that he isn't capable of such a thing, but I can assure you he is," Zelena responded.

"No…" She felt the entire bottom had just dropped out of her world. All this time she'd been counting on nine months. Now she might not have any. "And I... I thought that I had time on my side," she cried trying to swallow this abnormally large pill of reality or magic. It was unfair. She didn't even get to enjoy being pregnant for months before their child was gone? "I guess I don't."

Zelena looked away as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. Was there even time for Zelena to go to Hades? Was there time for anything now? Was it best to involve Rumple and suffer the consequences, so long as her child was born to her and not given to a monster.

"That's not necessarily true," Zelena sighed across from her. "There may be a way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, lesson number one for Adam and Eddy from a woman (one who has never been pregnant, but a woman nonetheless). Belle should not be having morning sickness just now for all the reasons stated above. At one week into the pregnancy, the body hardly knows that it's pregnant yet, that's why certain pregnancy tests tell you to wait a certain number of days and why doctors ask that you take tests a few times before coming to the conclusion. Even then, you don't get morning sickness for a fair amount of time into the first trimester (actually, friends that have been pregnant inform me it lasts until into the second trimester and sometimes even through the third). Either way, I do hope they don't really think Belle would be morning sick here. So, that being said...you don't know it yet, but I am going to speed her pregnancy up a bit and blame it on Hades. Why? Because in 6A she goes to get a sonogram done and fun fact, Belle would only be about two weeks pregnant (because time stopped under the sleeping curse) when she goes to the doctor and they wouldn't give her a sonogram that early. Not unless they thought there was something wrong. All a doctors appointment would be is another pregnancy test, confirmation of the pregnancy, and scheduling further appointments. So, I'm going to play into A&E's hands and fix their mistake a bit, but it still annoys me that I have to do it.
> 
> Hard to believe we are nearly at the end! I won't say that I hope you enjoy the ending to this fiction, because I know that most of us won't, but I do hope that you'll think it fits together and is well written. That is about all I'll ask for! Peace and Happy Reading!


	39. A Loophole Of Her Own

There was a way. One way and one way only to get away from Hades, to rescue her child. Five words from Zelena and she was hooked, even with the four words that immediately followed. "It won't be pretty," she warned right away.

"Oh please," she begged stepping forward. "I'll take any way that leads to my baby in my arms."

Zelena nodded slowly, as if still considering what she'd already set in motion. It didn't even last a second, but it was long enough to stir in her the fear that she wouldn't do what she'd said she would do, long enough to ignite a fire of fight in her chest, long enough to-

"Follow me," she finally instructed turning from the kitchen. She took her glass of water, just in case, and followed after the Witch, through the house, and eventually up a set of stairs that carried her into a small attic…a small attic that was rivaled only by Rumpelstiltskin's basement workshop. There was an entire laboratory set up in the attic, not to mention books on magic of every kind!

"What is this place?" she questioned out loud looking around at what she saw with shock and awe.

"I found it when I was wandering around with nothing to do once the baby was gone," she explained, taking to the vials and beakers before her. "Hades must have put it here for me. It figures he'd want me to have every advantage I could in this place if my magic wasn't working the way it should. There!" she watched as she struck a match that she used to light a much bigger flame over a beaker. She watched as she found a green colored liquid and poured it in using a funnel.

"All the comforts of home," she muttered still looking around. Hades had thought of everything for her! It was surprising. And remarkable. "Remind me again why you don't think he'd break the contract if you asked him to?" she questioned absent-mindedly.

"Because he's too smart for that," she answered as she began cutting up a root of some kind and pressing down to release its juice. "No, if you want to defeat Hades there's only one way, though I imagine you'll consider it risky your current situation. Still…it's the only spell I've ever heard of that can stop time for an individual without affecting others."

Her heart continued to race as she watched her work. She was desperate enough to know that if this was the only way, then she was going to do it, but that didn't mean that Zelena's words weren't making her uneasy. "What is it?" she asked nervously.

"Sleeping Curse."

From a racing heartbeat to one that nearly stopped at those words...it was remarkable just how easily Zelena had told her about it!

"Sleeping curse!" she blanched. She honestly hadn't expected something like that to be her way out!

"Oh, don't overreact," she dismissed. "It sounds worse than it actually is. You won't hunger, you won't thirst, you won't even really grow tired, and the best thing is neither will your baby. The two of you are linked at the moment, so your curse will be your baby's curse. Magical rules are very particular. So long as you are under this kind of spell, Hades won't be about to advance your pregnancy, and you will stay just as pregnant as you are now for however long it takes to break the curse. You'll have all the time you need; you'll just be asleep."

So easily! She spoke about this as if she spoke about the weather or the trees, as easily as Rumple spoke of murder! It was as if she suggest this was the simplest thing in the world, though…she supposed it was. It was just a prick of her finger and then she fell asleep, and her child stayed tucked away below her heart until the right time came. It sounded simple, but…it was the "curse" part that kept echoing endlessly in her head.

"It's still a sleeping curse," she explained. "It's still Dark magic!"

"Yes, but it won't hurt the baby, in fact, it'll preserve…oh, why bother?!" she suddenly huffed, rising from where she was measuring out some dust that turned the liquid blue when she put it inside the beaker. Zelena left her station and walked over to one of the shelves stacked with books and pulled one out. "Here!" she exclaimed tossing it to her. "You're a bookworm, you can read all about it for yourself. Far as I can make out, that book is the most up to date you can read. Educate yourself."

Her glare went unnoticed as the witch quickly went back to work, and she began her job, looking through the book page by page. "Up to date" was the wrong word for this book. "Odd" was the correct term. It was a book of magic, spells and curses and relics. But it wasn't like the books from their world, which were always handwritten. This book was in print, like with a machine. It was like a book she'd find in Storybrooke only it wasn't that either. The words were odd. It was a book that was not of the Enchanted Forest or of Storybrooke. Another world then? She supposed that was possible. Anything was possible.

Her fingers stopped over the page where she saw a header for a Sleeping Curse. Apparently, those existed in the world that this book was from. The chapter was three pages long, but appropriate enough. She read as Zelena worked, gathering up the bits of information that she already knew because Zelena had told her. Yes, Dark Magic was used to make the curse, but the victim was not stained with the Dark Magic, only affected by it. The victim entered into a deep, unrelenting sleep. Their heart rate slowed. Their breath eased. Their need for food and water wouldn't wake them. They wouldn't even feel the urge to go to the bathroom. So long as they were asleep they were impervious to the assaults of the outside world, they wouldn't freeze in the cold or burn in the heat, and most importantly of all, the curse stopped all conditions in their tracks. Leprosy, cancer, pregnancy, even healing. A person could be an inch from death, and yet under a sleeping curse, they could survive for hundreds of years until a cure came around.

"Leprosy", "cancer", "cures"…no, this book certainly wasn't from their realm, a place where science met magic? Possibly. But what mattered was that the information seemed to be what she knew. Asleep for a long time, the curse was administered into the bloodstream, but recently it had been discovered that it could also be ingested. If infused with a food, an apple was recommended, and the spell was different, then it was shorter to make and less toilsome. But in order to infuse the magic into the apple, it was a difficult process. The apple had to be grown from a certain tree that only born one fruit and seeds were difficult to come by. Besides that, if taken in by food the sleeping curse had to be done voluntarily. Needles for immediate absorption into the bloodstream were still recommended, though looked down upon because anyone could be put under the curse, willing or not.

She glanced up and looked once more around the attic. "I don't see a spinning wheel anywhere," she observed.

"Look again," Zelena suggested without looking at her. "It says nothing about a spinning wheel, just a needle to get the curse into the system and fortunately for you, I had just the thing on me when I left Oz." She watched as Zelena went to a black coat hanging on a hook in the corner, the same black coat that she had been wearing the day they came here. From inside she pulled out a small round tin of some kind. On one end, there was a needle attached to it. Zelena removed the beaker from the fire and waved her hands over the smoke. It was a light blue color. She poured the liquid into a small circular dish, added one final ingredient that flashed for a moment, but when she could see clearly again the smoke had stopped, Zelena had fetched an eyedropper, and she was using it to drop the liquid onto the needle tip. Though the drops looked large for the needle, she realized that it didn't drip. In fact, it didn't even seem wet.

"There now, that should do it," Zelena remarked standing up and offering the tin to her.

At first, she reached her hand out for it, but then quickly pulled it back. She was desperate, but this was a sleeping curse she was reaching for like water. Was she really _this_ desperate?

"If I do this…if I do this, I risk a failure of a different kind. The baby and I could be asleep forever," she swallowed nervously.

"Not forever," Zelena reminded her with an eye roll. "The cure is True Love's Kiss and I'm sure your beloved Dark One won't let you sleep forever, not even without your trust."

No, but that was just the thing wasn't it. True Love's Kiss…it had worked to break a curse for them once before, or nearly to break a curse at least. But then things had been different. She'd seen a world of possibilities if she broke his curse, she'd had endless hope, and been so happy and carefree she'd been giddy and careless. Things were different between them now. Possibility, hope, happiness…she didn't even trust him to help her with a grocery list at the moment! After all that had happened, after his rejection, after telling her that he wouldn't change for her…she knew that she did love him, in a way she loved him and always would but was it still true love? The love she felt for him now was so different than the love they shared so long ago in his castle. It was so different than the love that she had for her child. She'd do anything for this baby, one week old or not!

Anything for her child…

True Love's Kiss…

Perhaps it was fortunate that she didn't need to know if Rumple was enough or not. There was already someone else in the world that had declared that they would do anything for their child. Anything for her…

"But…asleep or not it doesn't solve the problem," she realized. "Even if True Love's Kiss can wake me up…the baby will still belong to Hades."

"Oh, don't make me do all the thinking," Zelena breathed with irritation. "For someone so astute you can be very dull at times."

"I don't-"

"You're not the only one who is pregnant. It's not just your child. There are two of you in this situation, and both of you are fighting the forces of hell to do this, you're just going to have to do it in different ways.

"What are you-"

"Rumpelstiltskin!" she stressed. "You're the one going to sleep not him. You stop your pregnancy in its tracks so that Hades can't take the baby if he starts to feel nervous that you are getting close to winning and while you're asleep The Dark One will figure out how to break the contract. He'll have all the time that he needs. And when it's over, he'll wake you up, and you'll be free to raise your baby however you choose and tell Regina and Robin that I can be trusted with my own daughter. I'm making what I believe they call a long-term investmen."

She nodded absent-mindedly, acknowledging that she heard what Zelena was telling her. She heard…she was still working on comprehending and agreeing with it. It was such an odd and ironic thing to think about. If she did this, she'd be trusting Rumple to solve the problem without her. Without her guidance, her morals, her ideas…he'd be free to do whatever he needed and wanted to do in order to break the contract. And by going to sleep, she would be choosing to look the other way, just as he'd told her she should if they wanted to stay together. Days ago, when she'd only just found out she was pregnant, she was determined that she couldn't do something like that. She couldn't turn a blind eye to his deals, his manipulation, and worse of all the possibility that more people might meet their end the way that Gaston had in order to save their child.

It was a horrible thought, one she wasn't sure she could stand for. But if she didn't it wasn't her that would pay the price. It was their child.

For their child, could she do what had to be done?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, content aside, I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter. It's not so much a Research!Belle chapter, but it is still magical exploration and I always enjoy getting to think and write about that a bit more. I enjoyed putting the book in there. It was a time to stretch my legs with the writing a bit and think. Some realms have magic, some don't. Some are really developed, some aren't. Hades has souls from all the realms so it makes sense that his books would be from all the realms as well. Who knows, maybe this book came from the Land of Untold Stories. As far as Zelena goes, I really do feel like I got her character in this chapter. At least I hope I did. Like I said, not friends, but passive aggressive friendly.
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you, Taisch and Deweymay for the comments on the previous chapter! Hard to believe, but the last chapter is coming at you next! Has it felt like these past few chapters have just flown by to anyone else? Are you ready for the last chapter?! Peace and Happy Reading!


	40. The Final Answer

The weight of the small needle in her pocket was practically nothing, but it felt even heavier than the dagger had those times she'd used it. She shook the entire time that it took her to walk back to the Pawn Shop. It was like walking to Zelena's all over again. She tried to think of other options, to ask herself if this was truly the right plan, if it was as foolproof and safe as she hoped. The answer was the same. Yes. It was simple but brilliant. She'd go to him. She'd put herself under a sleeping curse, she'd give him the freedom that he wanted to do whatever he wanted, whatever he needed to fix this problem. She'd let him do what he needed while she turned a blind eye, never wanting to know what he did to free them. And in the end, she'd wake. But she knew he wouldn't be the one to do it.

Her father would. Before she'd come to the Underworld, he'd promised her that he loved her in the flower shop when they talked. And though she knew he showed it wrong sometimes, this pregnancy wasn't only causing her to look at Zelena differently, it made her see her father in a different way too. She understood all he'd done in an odd way now. He'd tried to protect her and save her all her life. Though they hadn't been right, she did believe he'd done them for a good reason, just as she was doing this. He'd help her now. She just needed to get to Rumple, because while she doubted his love for her was greater than his love for magic, she also knew that he did love her in some way. So while she knew she'd be vulnerable under the sleeping curse, she also knew that he'd protect her body and the child within her with everything in him…and that included Dark Magic.

It killed her. But if this was the only way to handle it, then so be it. When she woke she wouldn't ask questions about what he had to do to free their child, she didn't want to carry that guilt with her for the rest of her life. And she knew that it wouldn't help whatever future they had left, which was something else she was about to put on hold for their child. They'd figure out where their relationship stood when she was awake and their child was safe.

When she finally pushed her way into the pawn shop she saw that he wasn't in the front and so she walked straight to the back, knowing that just because she didn't see him it didn't mean that he wasn't there. He was always there.

Her heart was racing. She was scared. But she just kept reminding herself that it only took a second, one second of bravery to do this for their child.

"Belle, where have you been?" he questioned from the table. He had books spread out, all ready for her but he didn't understand that it was too late even for that.

"Trying to find a way to fix your mistake."

"So have I," he snapped. "Doing research...this is gonna take some time."

It wasn't just her stomach that flipped over at that proclamation, her heart turned as well. "Which is exactly what we don't have," She pointed out. She was suddenly glad that she'd gone to Zelena, without that visit she might not have every made the realization that he clearly hadn't had yet. The proclamation was enough to stop him in his tracks, she didn't want to know how he'd react to the news. Especially without her. "Hades can take our baby whenever he wants to just like Emma did to Zelena."

"Well, I won't let that happen," he declared.

She only shook her head. No. Nothing was sure at this point, nothing was promised. He'd just said that this was going to take time but in nine months, or nine seconds Hades could decide to take the child and then where would they be?! She wouldn't allow that. She wouldn't allow Hades to have her baby for one second. She knew what was right. She had to let Rumple do what he did best. And if she couldn't participate in it, she was going to turn a blind eye to it, just as he wanted her too. He would do his part and she would do hers. She'd give him all the time in the world.

"I can't take the chance that you'll stop him in time, not when there's a way that I can pause everything...even my pregnancy."

She raised the needle and he stared at it dumbfounded for a moment, before he recognized what it was and suddenly realized what she was suggesting. Part of her knew that he wouldn't like this, she didn't like this either and normally she might rejoice that she'd found something they could see eye to eye on, but this was what had to be done.

"Where did you get that?" he asked angrily, flipping closed the book he'd been looking through.

"From Zelena," she answered honestly. "But don't worry. The sleeping curse, it'll halt everything."

He made a quick motion toward her, to take the needle and the curse away from her but she was already prepared and held her finger to it.

"Ah! I can prick my finger quicker than you can stop me," she warned. It worked, somewhat at least. He took a step back but shifted his weight as if he was unable to decide what to do. She was a woman on a ledge. He knew it as well as she did. But there was a reason for it. A plan. "As long as I'm asleep, Hades can't take the baby, and you'll have all the time you need to destroy the contract."

"Belle, you're only gonna make things worse," he corrected.

She felt her heart roar to life in her chest. She wasn't making things worse! She was making them better! He'd made things worse! Now she was giving him the chance to correct it just the way he wanted to. And she was going to do what she had to do. This was what she had to do. "I'm doing what I need to to protect our child!"

"There's only one way out of a sleeping curse...true love's kiss."

She took a few deep breaths. She'd tried her hardest to prepare for this part of the conversation on the way over. No she just needed to execute it. "I know."

"You think this is gonna force me to become the man you want me to be? To go back to the light just to wake you up? My love, I already told you... I'm not that man.

"No, I know." She'd expected those words, but she had to admit that her heart broke a little to hear them. He'd once told her that he would do anything for her, be anything. But this curse he had inside him now was worse than it had been before. His words essentially confirmed it for her, because now instead of doing anything to save her, he'd just declared there was a limit, a line he wouldn't cross not even for her. It was sad. But it was also a good thing she'd thought of this before coming over here. Because instead of wallowing and sentencing herself and her child to a life in eternal slumber, she knew the one way out. And it didn't require any change on his part, he just had to move her around like the possession she swore he thought she was.

"You're not the one who's going to wake me, Rumple. My father is."

"Oh, no, Belle, please don't...don't-"

"After you destroy the contract," she interrupted taking a few steps away from him before he could stop this plan, "you do whatever it takes to get me back to him."

Before she could answer any more questions, before he could argue she felt that same swell of bravery she'd once felt when she handed herself over to a beast. But this time it wasn't a word she needed, it was just an action. One swift motion and prick of the finger. Before she could lose her strength she did it.

She felt the effects immediately.

"No! Oh, Belle."

She felt her eyes close in slumber despite the fact that she wasn't tired.

"Belle!"

The buckling of her legs and the weight of gravity, before strong arms felt like nothing but a feather light touch, lighter every second.

"Oh no."

She felt the slow fall into deep realms of red sleep.

"Belle, no."

She hoped she'd wake up to a brighter future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, welcome to the end. I really hope that you enjoyed this story! The next story in the Moments series is called Moments Lived and Unlived. It covers everything that happened in Storybrooke during 6A beginning with the moment Belle enters the Red Room and ending with the moment she lets Gideon go in "Changelings".
> 
> Of course, if you liked what you read please give kudos or comments! I love getting those wonderful little gems in my inbox and communicating with the people reading on a personal level. And if you want to read more, please check out any of the other fictions in the Moments Series. For more information on the Moments Series, upcoming fictions, posting and publishing dates, or a reading order, check out my profile for updates. Peace and Happy Reading!


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